Elena's head was hazy, her brain cloudy as she struggled with her surroundings. She felt like she was underwater. Where was she? She blinked heavily, her eyelids feeling as if made from lead. The edges of her vision were tinged in red which only happened when she was well fed, but she couldn't remember the last time she ate. She couldn't remember much of anything she had done recently. She glanced down at herself, her nose wrinkling at her outfit. "These aren't my clothes," she mumbled. Her boobs were nearly falling out of the low cut top she wore and her pants were a size too tight. What woman in this day and age didn't wear a bra? She glanced around, the living room of the boarding house coming into view. Her vision wasn't as sharp as it should be and neither was her hearing. She couldn't stretch her senses out to detect a presence in the house. Her nose however, didn't miss the tell tale sign of old blood. She jumped when the front door opened and she relaxed when saw Stefan. Until he kissed her. She immediately tried to push him away, or tried to. She was barely able to lift her arms, as they rested against his chest. And her heart sank when someone else joined them.

"At least go upstairs," Damon growled.

Elena shook her head, still unable to force her body to move away from Stefan. All she could think about was what Damon had just seen; what he must think. "This isn't… what it looks like Damon," she said and then noticed the blood dripping from his lips. "What happened?"

Damon glared at her. "None of your business," he snapped.

She took a step toward him, or tried to. Her balance was horrible and her boots were killing her feet causing her to stumble. "What the hell?" she grumbled. "What is wrong with me?"

"Elena?" Stefan asked in that mopey voice that snapped her back to reality.

She wobbled as she took the boots off her feet before heading towards Damon. "What's wrong?" And when she reached out to touch him, he slapped her hand away. Hard enough to startle her and make her take a step back. All the years she had known him, he had never ever struck her.

"Don't you ever touch me Elena," he growled. His eyes were red, his veins just barely starting to form.

Tears stung her eyes as she stared at him. "Damon…" she choked. "Why are you being like this?" Surely he couldn't be that angry at a mistake. She didn't even kiss his brother back.

"Yes Damon," Stefan said. "Tell her how you killed half a dozen people."

"That you know of," Damon snarked as he moved around them to pour a drink.

Elena felt sick. He was killing again. But why? "You… you killed someone?' she whispered. "Why would you do that?" Nothing was making sense. Her confusion was mounting as she tried to put everything together, but still she couldn't figure it out.

"He's just lashing out," Stefan said. "Being typical Damon."

"And you're going to be next if you keep pushing my buttons," Damon seethed as he glared at Stefan. "And don't think I won't."

Elena took a step towards Damon once more. "We can fix this Damon," she said. "You don't have to be like this." Let's start with someone she knew. She knew how to help Damon back from the dark side. She could deal with that. She couldn't deal with all the other stuff that seemed to be wrong.

Damon laughed but it was laced with cruelty. She had never heard him so cold and unforgiving. "There is nothing wrong with me Elena," he said. "Not anymore. Thanks to you."

"What did I do…" Her head began to spin and she nearly felt sick. But her eyes flickered black for a quick second then back to brown as her stance changed. Her hips tilted as her eyes hardened. "What are you staring at?"

Damon narrowed his eyes as he looked her over. It was almost like… she was Elena but not quite Elena. She seemed off. She seemed warm one moment and ice cold the next. The tears dried up instantly, her emotions almost turning on and off at the drop of a hate.

She smiled broadly when she saw Stefan. "Stefan," she purred as she reached for him. "I missed you."

A deep growl erupted from Damon as they touched but her eyes flickered again. "What the hell is wrong with you?" he asked angrily. "Are you possessed or something?"

"Something is wrong," Elena whimpered. She felt dizzy and sick. Things a vampire were never supposed to feel. Unless something was horribly wrong.

"Stefan probably pounded you too hard last night," he grumbled, nearly vomiting himself.

Elena's gaze snapped to his as her stomach churned. "What are you talking about?" she asked in confusion. She couldn't have heard him right. She would never, ever, ever go back to Stefan. Not now. Not knowing how much she loved Damon. She could never be with anyone else after Damon. He made her feel alive inside and out.

"Elena," Stefan said, touching her arm.

"Did you think no one would hear you?" Damon fumed as he took a step toward them. "Did you think no one would hear the hours of disgusting romping coming from Stefan's room?" His eyes darkened dangerously. "Did you enjoy it Elena? And now you want to be in my business when you're fucking my brother?"

Elena suddenly had all her bearings as she took a step away from both of them. "I don't know what is going on here but I didn't have sex with Stefan last night," she said, her own anger getting the better of her. She could feel her cheeks turning a bright red, heating up her entire face.

"Elena, I heard you," Damon said. "I wasn't that drunk."

She shook her head as tears slid down her cheeks. "Damon I didn't," she said, looking at Stefan with a helpless expression. "Tell him." Surely Stefan would back her up at such nonsense. Damon must have just been very drunk. Mistaken himself at what he heard.

Stefan seemed beyond conflicted. "You said you made a mistake," he said. "With Damon. And you missed me."

Elena's heart broke, echoing in her ears. "I didn't," she whimpered. She wasn't drunk either. She didn't usually drink. What would possess her to do that? She wanted to work things out with Damon. She knew that. She was just letting him sort himself out. But she wasn't so lonely and impatient that she would go back to Stefan. "I don't remember. I wouldn't do that. I don't remember anything after Tyler's party."

"That was two weeks ago Elena," Stefan said. "And you've been pretty coherent. A little snotty but fine."

"Two weeks?!" she exclaimed. "That's impossible. I was running away from Nadia and then hugging Damon. Then it's all blurry." Her head lolled back briefly but she forced the dizziness away. She felt this before… recently.

But Damon had already put it together. "Katherine," he said softly, moving away from them. He leaned his hands on the window sill as he stared out into the night. The veins disappeared from his eyes as reality sunk in. "Katherine must have taken over Elena's body. Knew it was too good to be true when she was gone."

Stefan sighed. "Oh boy," he said rubbing his face. "It all makes sense. The clothes, the attitude."

Elena stared at Damon's back for a long moment as she tried to process everything. "Can you give us some privacy?" she whispered. She had to talk to Damon in private. She had to make him understand.

"For what it's worth Elena," he said. "I'm sorry."

She ran a shaky hand through her curly hair before approaching Damon. Where should they start? What could she possibly say? "Damon, I don't know what to say," she said softly. Sorry didn't seem to cover the amount of pain that was between the both of them right now. He remained silent so she continued. "I wish she hadn't done this to you and I wish I could undo it but I can't." She struggled not to cry but pushed forward. "I do love you Damon. Even now. We can work this out." He still refused to say anything to her. "Please say something." She moved to stand beside him and that's when she noticed the tears in his eyes. She ducked under his arm to wrap hers around his waist. "I love you." She pressed her face to his shoulder clenching her eyes shut.

For a very long moment, he didn't move but slowly his hand came up to her lower back. "Elena…."

"I would never go back to Stefan," she said, shaking her head. "I wouldn't. I would never… I would never do what she did. You have to believe me Damon. I don't want to be with anyone else."

His head dropped on top of hers with a sigh. "It's okay Elena," he said softly. "I'm sorry I disappointed you."

She pulled back to meet his gaze. "You didn't," she cradled his cheek. "Katherine used us, like she always does. She stole me away from you for her own selfish needs." That still didn't make him feel any better. "Let's make sure she's gone for good. We'll sort the rest out later." If she kept popping back up, who knows what kind of damage she could do.

"What if she's not?" he asked.

Elena chewed on her lip. "Maybe you… should lock me up," she said. "And call Bonnie."

His embrace tightened around her. "I can't do that," he said shaking his head. "You know I hated that before Elena."

"You have to," she said, running her thumb over his cheekbone. It felt so good to touch him, like she had been away from him for years. "It'll be okay Damon." Locking her up was the only way to make sure Katherine couldn't cause anymore problems. And Bonnie could do a spell to correct them. Elena didn't know how but she had faith in her friend.

He gently pulled her hands away from his face and took a step away from her. "No it won't," he said sadly.

She wanted so badly to reassure him but the devastated look on his face froze her voice. Her shoulders slumped as she headed downstairs to the cell. She folded her arms over her chest as Damon reluctantly locked her in. "How are you going to know it's me?" she asked.

"You'll have to tell me something only you and I know," he said. "Something we only shared with each other."

"Call Bonnie," she said with a nod. Damon knew everything about her. Everything. Things no one else knew. She had shared many things with him, things she trusted him to hold secret. Some things big, some things not so big. But she could easily convince him she wasn't Katherine.

He gave her a small smile before disappearing from view. Elena slid against the door, pulling her knees up to her chest as she let the tears finally fall from her eyes. Katherine ruined them. It had taken them so long to get to where they were, and she broke everything between them. The guilt between the two of them was immense. She could feel his loss deep inside her as she rested her head on her arms as cried silently. How they were going to come back from this, she had no idea. Every thing she had planned to get him to change his mind, Katherine had ruined with the ultimate betrayal.

On the other side of the closed door, Damon rested against the wall, his own grief consuming him. She was his whole world and she was gone. He broke his only rule to her, not to kill people. How could she even look at him the same?