III.

"She compelled you. It's the only explanation."

Alaric groaned and buried his face in his hands. To say Damon wasn't taking his turning well was an understatement.

"For the gazillionth time, she did not compel me, Damon," he said. "You know, this is kind of insulting. Don't you want me to be a vampire?"

"Of course!" Damon said, rolling his eyes as he poured two glasses of bourbon. "But I was supposed to be the one to do it. I had it all planned out. It was going to be awesome. But now you've gone and ruined it." He sighed. "She's got an ulterior motive, you know that, right? She didn't just turn you because you're hot. She's setting you up. I mean, come on. She already had the ring made, for fuck's sake. She's been planning this all along."

Alaric sighed as he took the proffered tumbler.

"I know," he said. "I don't know why, though. I'm just a noob. It's not like I'll be able to help much with whatever it is she's up against."

"Cannon fodder, maybe?" Damon shrugged. "But don't sell yourself short. You're a pretty resourceful guy."

Alaric's eyebrow rose at the unexpected compliment. "Thanks, dude," he said.

"Whatever," Damon said, rolling his eyes. At that moment his phone beeped and he pulled it out of his pocket.

"Oh, goody," he said, as he read the text message. "Stefan is checking in on me. He apparently thinks I'm going to burn the house down or something without him here to keep an eye on me."

Alaric snorted.

"He just misses you," he said. His eyes widened as he remembered something. "Oh, shit. Elena. I still have to break the news to her and Jeremy. Don't, uh, say anything, okay? I want to tell her myself."

"Of course not, Rick," Damon said. "That's what friends are for."

Alaric nodded. "Well, I should get going so that you can call Stefan back." He turned to leave and then stopped. "Wait. You think I'm hot?"

Damon looked up from his cell phone and gave Alaric a shove. "Get out."

Alaric snickered as he left the house, but he couldn't ignore the feeling of foreboding deep in the pit of his stomach.

xXx

Alaric didn't have much time to mull over the problem. That evening, Carol Lockwood was holding one of her many charity balls, and the old gang was back in town for the weekend. Alaric decided it was best to break the news to Jeremy at the party-in public-in hopes that Jeremy wouldn't make a scene. As it was, however, Jeremy took the news quite well-so well, that Alaric had a feeling he'd almost been expecting it.

"Elena's going to kill me," Jeremy said to Bonnie with a fatalistic sigh. "She made me promise I'd keep him out of trouble."

Bonnie patted Jeremy's hand.

"It's not your fault, sweetie," she said. She narrowed her eyes at Katherine. "I'm sure we all know who's to blame here."

Katherine rolled her eyes. "It was Rick's choice. I was just the instrument."

Bonnie scowled. "Why would Rick want to change into a vampire?"

Alaric's eyes widened. He had no doubt how Bonnie would react when she found out he'd murdered a someone in cold blood, someone he'd thought to be a warlock, and he already had a permanent headache from dealing with Katherine.

"Oh, look!" he said with false cheeriness as he grabbed Katherine's arm and started to tug on her arm. "There's Caroline."

"Oh, yay," Katherine said unenthusiastically. "My favorite person."

Alaric shot Katherine a warning look as he dragged her away.

"Jesus," he muttered. "Jer is practically family to me. Can't you just behave for once?"

"Where's the fun in that?" Katherine tilted her head up and gave him a gamine gaze as she pressed against him, rubbing her breast against his arm, and he shifted as his dress pants suddenly felt uncomfortable. Christ, the last thing he needed was to get hard in the middle of one of Carol Lockwood's parties.

"Katherine..." he said warningly.

Katherine sighed and patted his arm. "Loosen up, Rick," she said. "I'm kidding. I can do nice. She'll never know what hit her."

"Yeah, well, I'll believe that when I see it," he said. At that moment, they reached the balcony, where Caroline and Tyler were standing, drinks in hand. As Alaric and Katherine approached, the facial expressions of the two became more guarded. Alaric could tell the exact moment they both realized he was a vampire.

"Hey, Rick!" Caroline said, giving him a look of concern. Her face hardened when she looked over at Katherine. "Katherine." She started forward, but stopped when Tyler suddenly gripped her arm. "You two have something you wanna tell us?"

"Yeah..." Alaric glanced at Katherine and then turned back to Caroline. "So, um, I'm a vampire now."

"So we noticed," Tyler said, furrowing his brow. He frowned at Katherine. "How'd it happen?"

Alaric froze for a moment. He could trust Damon with the information about the man he'd killed, but the others were a different matter entirely. Before he could reply, however, Katherine jumped in.

"Oh," she said, rubbing provocatively against Alaric's arm as she ran her hand up his shoulder to the back of his head. "You know how it is. We... lost control. Alaric is so delicious."

"Katherine," Alaric murmured.

Both Caroline and Tyler looked horrified, presumably at the thought of their old teacher having sex with Katherine of all people.

"Uh, huh," Caroline said skeptically. "That's, um... totally TMI." She turned back to Alaric with a wide smile. "Anyway, if you need someone to talk to, I'm here." She gave Katherine an arch look. "After all, I too know what it's like to be sired by Katherine."

"I put you into this world, I can take you out of it," Katherine murmured sotto voce.

Caroline blanched. "What?"

Katherine gave Caroline a saccharine smile. "Nothing."

She glanced up at Alaric from under her lashes, her eyes glittering in mocking amusement, and he suddenly found himself hard-pressed not to laugh as well. Then she turned back to Caroline and Tyler, plastering what seemed to be a genuine smile on her face.

"I love what you've done with your hair, sweetie," she said. "And that dress is just divine."

Caroline's frozen smile vanished as she stared at Katherine, and her body tensed.

"Thanks," she said curtly. "We, uh..." She glanced at Tyler. "We have to go... do a thing. Right?"

Tyler had been watching Katherine with a wary look on his face, but he jumped when Caroline poked.

"What?" He looked at Caroline and then his eyes widened. "Oh, right. The thing." He nodded and then started to tug Caroline away. "We'll, uh, see you guys later."

Alaric stared after them as they hurried off.

"Wow," he said. "You terrified them with kindness."

Katherine shrugged. "It's a gift."

She stiffened as someone called out his name and they looked over to see Carol approaching.

"Hello, Alaric," she said and then she turned to Katherine. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Carol Lockwood. You're Katherine, Elena's cousin, right? John's daughter? You and Elena look so much alike, it's astonishing! For a minute there, I thought she was back from Europe."

Katherine's smile froze and Alaric could tell she was dying to correct Carol's assessment of her looks. But she stayed in control.

"Yes, we do look alike," she said, through her teeth. "But I'm the better dresser. And I have much nicer hair."

Before Alaric could scold her again, Carol laughed, apparently taking Katherine's insult for teasing fondness. "You must miss her," she said. "How do she and Stefan like Italy?"

"They're doin' great," Alaric said quickly, jumping in to save Katherine from having to answer. "Damon talked to Stefan this afternoon, he can probably tell you more."

"Oh, that's nice," Carol said. She turned back to Katherine. "Why don't you come with me and I'll introduce you to everyone? They're all dying to meet you." She turned back to Alaric. "If it's all right with you, Alaric."

"Oh, I'm sure Katherine would love that." Katherine gripped his arm so tightly that Alaric had to bite his teeth together to keep from groaning in pain. "Wouldn't you, Kat?"

He stifled a gasp as she dug her stiletto heel into his foot. "That would be lovely," she said, however, giving Carol a wide smile. Then, too low for the other woman to hear, she murmured in his ear, "I'll get you for this."

As the two women moved off, he whispered, "Don't eat anyone," and was rewarded by the sight of her middle finger held up behind her back. He started to laugh and turned, jumping when he ran into Damon. "Dude, watch it."

"It's not my fault if you're not honing your super ninja vampire skills, Rick," Damon said, his eyes narrowing as he watched Carol and Katherine disappear into the crowd. "You should've heard me a mile off."

"I didn't realize you were stalking me when you were a mile off."

"You should always assume I'm stalking you," Damon said.

"Oh, right, 'cause you think I'm hot," Alaric said with a smirk.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Not as hot as me. So, have you found out anything?"

"Dude, the last time I talked to you was three hours ago. She spent most of that time getting ready for the party, not plotting my downfall."

"I wouldn't underestimate Katherine's ability to multitask," Damon said. "She's had more than 500 years of practice of screwing men over and leading them to their doom."

"Yeah, well, I don't have that far to fall," Alaric said with a shrug. "I can't be that much of a challenge.

Damon rolled his eyes. "You're a nice guy, Rick," he said. "Believe me, that's all it takes. She gets a charge outta corrupting people."

"Maybe." Alaric 's stomach churned as he remembered how he'd drained that woman. Sheila or whatever she'd been called. Who knew how many people he'd eventually have on his conscience before she was through with him? Damon was right about her and he shouldn't forget it.

"How are you doing with the hunger?"

"Okay, I guess," Alaric said. "I only want to tear out someone's throat every other second now. But I fed before we left."

Damon snorted. "Yeah, well, try to keep it in check. Tonight was probably a bad night to go out in public. You need time to adjust."

"Probably," Alaric said with a shrug. "Talking about it doesn't help, by the way."

"Whatever. Katherine should've been more careful, that's all I'm sayin'."

Alaric looked away from Damon, his gaze easily finding Katherine in the crowd where she was standing with Carol and a few women from the other founding families. He caught his breath as he realized her eyes were already on him with something akin to longing in their depths, and his heart skipped a beat. When she realized he was looking at her, she quickly glanced away and then turned to Carol, murmuring something to the other woman that he couldn't quite decipher over the noise of the crowd.

"Uh, oh, she's on her way back," Damon said mockingly. "I guess she can't stand letting you out of her sight, even for a minute."

"Shut up, Damon," Alaric said without heat. His mouth went dry when he saw the purposeful look on Katherine's face, directed at him.

"Oh, I know that look," Damon continued, as if he hadn't heard Alaric. "Whatever you do, don't do it in the conservatory. Disturbing lack of privacy there, dude."

Before Alaric could respond, Katherine had rejoined them on the balcony.

"Is this man bothering you, Rick?" she asked sweetly, fluttering her lashes at Damon.

"Always," Alaric said, smirking at Damon, who rolled his eyes.

"Fine," Damon said, grimacing in obvious annoyance. "I can tell when I'm not wanted. Later, bro."

As Damon headed off towards the bar to replenish his drink, Alaric turned to Katherine with a grin. "So how was your introduction to Mystic Falls high society?"

"It was horrible," Katherine said, sliding her arms around Alaric's neck, closing her eyes as she laid her head on his shoulder. "Remind me why I didn't just rip their throats out."

Alaric snorted. "I'm not sure, to be honest. I'm not saying you should, just... it doesn't seem like you." He wrapped his arms around her, closing his eyes as he buried his face in her hair. He couldn't get over how good she smelled, how right she felt in his arms.

Katherine sighed as she pressed against him, moving slowly to the music that trickled out of the speakers on the lawn.

"Carol seems to think you're a perv," she said. "She thought it was terribly interesting that you're dating a woman who looks so much like one of your former students, not to mention the niece of your dead girlfriend." Alaric stiffened slightly at her words, but she didn't seem to notice. "Should I worry?"

"Believe me, you're nothing like Elena," Alaric said, fighting to stay calm. How dare she mock Jenna like that? He twisted his fingers in her hair and pulled her head back, not ungently, until he was looking into her eyes. "And I do know the difference."

She stared at him for a long moment, her lips tightening into a thin line.

"Are you insulting me?" she asked, extricating herself from his embrace.

"Just statin' a fact." Alaric shrugged, feigning nonchalance despite the conflicting feelings warring within him. He wanted to haul her back and kiss her, but he wanted to hurt her, too. He wanted her to react with something other than her smirk attitude for once. Just one small indication that she might really care for him after all. For a moment, he thought he saw it, the barest flicker of emotion in her eyes, but it was gone in an instant as her mask of cool arrogance slipped into place again.

"I'm not sure I know what you're implying, Alaric," she said coolly, folding her arms over her chest. "Just what are you accusing me of? What has Damon been saying about me?"

"This has nothing to do with Damon," he said, mirroring her stance. "But fine, if you want to know. I think you set me up. You're just using me. What am I, cannon fodder?"

Katherine clenched her fists at her sides as she glared at him.

"Got it in one, Alaric," she said. "You're much smarter that I gave you credit for."

A sharp pain went through his chest at her words, much keener than anything he'd ever felt as a human. He grabbed her by the upper arms and pulled her closer again, digging his fingers into her biceps. She winced, but she didn't try to pull away.

"Was any of it real?"

She raised her chin.

"No," she said, her voice dropping to a low hiss. "None of it. You were just a tool, Alaric. And not a very competent one at that. I only need you as long as you're useful, and don't you forget it. Otherwise... accidents can happen."

Alaric's chest squeezed so hard at her hateful words, he thought he would've suffocated if he were still human.

"Bitch!" He snarled. He lowered his head, noting the widening of Katherine's eyes before he crushed her lips with his. A part of him desperately wanted to believe that she was lying, that he could make her admit that she wanted and needed him, and, for a moment, he thought he'd won: after a brief struggle, she melted against him, her mouth opening under the onslaught of his mouth and tongue, meeting the force of his desperation with an equal and opposite one. Just as suddenly, however, she was pulling away. Her hand lashed out to meet his cheek and he found himself thrown several feet, landing on his side and sliding into the banister, which prevented him from falling into the gardens below.

"Fuck you!" she snarled. "I don't need this! I don't need you!" She turned on her heel and raced towards the stairs heading down to the gardens.

Alaric pushed himself to his feet with a groan, looking around to make sure no one had seen their argument before following her, already filled with regret. He could see her hurrying across the grounds towards the line of cars and he quickened his pace, bounding down the stairs. Suddenly, a dark figure stepped out of the shadows and Katherine lurched to a stop. Alaric strained to listen, but the noise from the party created a momentary feedback loop, and he pressed his hands to his ears with a wince. Katherine started to back away from the man and then she collapsed with a shriek. Fuck.

"Katherine!" The man whirled around at Alaric's cry and raised his hand. Pain surged through Alaric's head, blinding him in its intensity, and he fell to his knees with a strangled cry. The last thing he saw before slipping into unconsciousness was Katherine being shoved into a car.

xXx

Alaric awoke with a start and started to sit up, grabbing his head with a groan as residual pain shot through his head once more. His teeth were aching and he was starving. It didn't help that he could smell the blood of at least three people somewhere near him.

"Fuck," he muttered. "What hit me?"

"Aneurysm," Damon said. "Never seen a reaction like this before. Whoever did this to you was either really strong, or you're the wimpiest vamp ever." He grabbed Alaric's hand and pressing a blood bag into it. "Here, drink this."

Alaric blindly guided the bag to his lips. The end of the tube had already been cut so he sucked it into his mouth, drinking greedily. The bloodlust was starting to fade, though not entirely. Finally, as his head began to clear, he opened his eyes, looking around frantically at the faces of the people surrounding him-Damon, Jeremy, Bonnie, and... Lucy Bennett? But one face was missing.

"Katherine," he said, struggling to sit up. "She's in danger. I have to save her."

"Whoa," Damon said, pushing him back onto the couch. "Not so fast, young Skywalker. Tell us what happened."

Alaric took another blood bag from Damon, sipping slowly as he tried to piece together the events of the evening.

"We had an argument," he said finally. "She ran off towards the cars and some guy grabbed her. When I went after her, he gave me this." He winced as he rubbed his temples.

"Did you get a look at 'im?" Jeremy asked.

Alaric shook his head. "It was dark," he said. "Guy was taller than Katherine. I'm guessin' it was that warlock who's after her."

"I told you," Lucy said, giving the others a significant look and then turned her gaze on Alaric. "His name is Gavin and he's one of Klaus's warlocks. I had a run-in with him a few months back, before he came here. He blames Kat for Klaus's capture. And he wants to know where the Originals are keeping him. I imagine he plans to torture it out of her, and kill two birds with one stone, so to speak."

"But no one knows where Klaus is," Damon said. "Elijah and the other Originals disappeared with him right after Bonnie and Lucy performed their little spell to trap him. None of us have heard from them since."

Alaric let out a sound of exasperation. "Look, I don't care about that," he said. "We have to help her." His stomach plummeted as he noticed the looks the others were exchanging. "Guys? What's goin' on?"

"Yes, why don't you tell him, Judgy?"

Bonnie scowled at Damon and then turned to Alaric. "There's no guarantee that we'll be able to find them. And even if we did... Are you sure you want her to come back after everything she's done? I know she put herself at a great risk to lead Klaus into our trap, but she's still the same self-serving conniver as she ever was. She turned you into a vampire, Rick. That should be proof enough."

Alaric's chest had constricted so tightly that he almost told himself to breathe, before he remembered that he didn't have to anymore.

"First of all, I asked her to, all right?," he said irritably. "But even if I hadn't, that's not the point. Remember that saying about glasses houses, Bonnie? Remember what you guys did to Mason Lockwood? And let's not get into how none of us are talkin' about the shit Stefan got into with Klaus a few years ago. We're all guilty here. We're all monsters in our own little way. So are you gonna help me? Because I'm gonna try, whether you guys've got my back or not."

Bonnie clenched her fists at her sides, looking down as her eyes filled with tears.

"Give us a minute," Jeremy said. Taking her arm, he led her gently out of the room.

"Well," Damon said, raising a brow. "I at least need a good stiff drink. BRB." He picked up the empty carafe and headed off towards the kitchen.

Alaric leaned back against the couch, pinching the bridge of his nose. He tried not to listen to the tense discussion between Jeremy and Bonnie in the other room, but his vampire hearing was playing another trick on him, and he couldn't control it. He felt sick to his stomach at the thought of what Katherine might be going through at the hands of Gavin-if she was even still alive. If Bonnie refused to help, he'd just find another way to save her, no matter what happened to him. He wasn't going to let the others make him sit idly by again while another one of his girlfriends was sacrificed.

"You seem to be handling this well. The transition, I mean."

He looked up in surprise, having forgotten that Lucy was still in the room. He let out a bark of laughter.

"You're jokin', right?" he said. "I wouldn't say I was doin' well. I'm hungry all the fuckin' time and I can't control my new super mutant powers. Not to mention the fact that my girlfriend is in the hands of someone who wants her dead."

Lucy gave him a considering look. "You really do care about her, don't you?"

Alaric's eyes fell to his hands, his chest tightening. He didn't want to care. Who knew how many people Katherine had killed over the years? And how long before he became just like her?

"Why are you trying to help?" he asked, pushing the dark thoughts out of his mind. "I thought you and Katherine were on the outs."

Lucy's eyebrow shot up. "It's... complicated. I guess you could say we're on-again, off-again... well, 'besties' probably isn't the right word. Let's just say it's really hard to say no to her when she turns on the charm." Then she grinned. "Besides, I like having her in my debt every now and then."

Alaric snorted and shook his head. Just like Damon. "Oh, yeah, I've noticed that. The charm, that is."

Lucy smiled and then reached out to run her finger over Alaric's daylight ring.

"Maybe she can change," she said. "Deep down, you believe that, right? I mean, you let her turn you."

Alaric rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well. I don't know what she told you. I didn't want to get into it with the others, but she did actually sorta trick me into that."

Lucy threw her head back and laughed. "Well, Rome wasn't built in a day, Rick. I can't believe I'm saying this, but... give her a chance. She might surprise you."

Alaric held up his hand. "You made this, didn't you?" he said. "Why?"

Lucy shrugged. "You've always seemed like a good guy, Rick. I've known Katherine for a long time and the way she talked about you... well, let's just say it's a hunch. I think the two of you are going to be just fine."

Before she could elaborate, Jeremy entered the room.

"Bonnie says she'll help," he said. He turned to Lucy, nodding his head towards the room he'd just left. "She asked me to send you in."

"Sure." Lucy reached over to squeeze Alaric's hand before getting up and leaving the room. From the sounds of it, the two had been joined by Damon.

Jeremy fell onto the couch next to Alaric.

"You okay?" he asked.

Alaric nodded. "Thanks, man," he said. "I know you have every reason to hate Katherine after everything she did to you and Elena, but I really appreciate this."

"Yeah, well.." Jeremy's hand reached up to his neck and he rubbed it absently. "I guess I'm willing to give her another chance. She did help us catch Klaus. And... I hate to admit it, but you've changed since she came into your life. It's like you're the old you again."

"All I'm hearin' is you callin' me old."

Jeremy snorted and punched Alaric's arm.

"You know what I mean." Jeremy took a deep breath. "You're family. I... Elena and I... We care about you. A lot. You were always there for us and now I'm returning the favor. Elena would insist if she were here."

Alaric's chest tightened at Jeremy's words. He and Jeremy both knew that it was really Jeremy and Elena who'd always kept him together after Jenna died. They were the ones who were always taking care of him. He'd failed them in so many ways over the years, he'd long ago lost count. He didn't deserve to be their friend, let alone their family. He hesitated and then slid his arm around Jeremy's shoulders and pulled him into an embrace.

"Love you guys, too," he mumbled, his ears burning.

At that moment, the others entered the room, stopping short on the threshold at the sight of Alaric and Jeremy hugging. Damon smirked and opened his mouth, only to let out a pained, "Ow!" when Bonnie stomped on his foot. Alaric and Jeremy jumped apart quickly, both clearing their throats at the same time to cover their embarrassment.

"So," Bonnie said, struggling to keep a straight face. "I think we have a plan that just might work, but we need something of hers-blood, hair..."

"Hair," Alaric said quickly. "That hair of hers gets into everything. It's all over the apartment. Drives me nuts. She's never cleaning out the drain in the shower."

"Well, that's what happens when you leave the seat up, Rick," Damon said.

"Bite me, Damon."

Damon opened his mouth with a rejoinder, but closed it again at a glare from Bonnie.

"We only have till sunset," she said. "That's not much time, and we have a lot to do."

"Thanks, Bonnie," Alaric said. "I really appreciate this."

Bonnie smiled. "Don't thank me yet. C'mon, we'll do the spell at your place."

xXx

As they trudged through the woods towards the location Bonnie had pinpointed, Alaric laid his hand over his heart where a spelled stake lay in his breast pocket, and he was wearing his usual stakes up his sleeve. They could already hear a low chanting floating on the breeze and Alaric quickened his pace. He didn't even want to consider what would happen if they didn't stop the warlock in time.

.

After a moment, they emerged in a clearing. Alaric looked around, his stomach twisting in fear until he spied Katherine in the middle of a circle of fire, on her knees with her hands bound in front of her as Gavin's voice echoed through the night. He was barely aware of his friends springing into action beside him, Bonnie and Lucy holding hands as they gathered their powers while Damon and the others faced off the vampires who were charging them. Instead, Alaric's attention was focused on Katherine. Pulling out the spelled stake, he sprinted towards her.

Just before he reached the circle, however, something hard hit him, knocking him to the ground. The spelled stake dropped from his grasp as he was wrestled onto his back by a large, powerful vampire. The vampire raised his arm to drive his own stake into Alaric's chest. Alaric tried to push the other vampire off him, but he was older, stronger, and still the stake neared. Alaric pressed his other hand against the vampire's chest, flicking desperately at the catch of his stake shooter, but it was jammed. He'd just about given up when the vampire was suddenly gone. Alaric looked up just time to see him flying across the clearing, directly onto a stake Jeremy was holding.

"Nice shot," Alaric muttered to Damon as the other man helped him up.

"Ten points for me," Damon said. He brushed off Alaric and then pointed him towards Katherine. "Now it's your turn."

Starting towards her once again, Alaric reached for the spelled stake and froze as he remembered dropping it when the vampire had attacked him. He dropped to his knees, feeling around on the ground for it. His fingers brushed against it and his shoulders sagged in relief-but as he stretched to pick it up, he heard the sound of wood clacking against wood. The stake of his attacker.

His stomach plummeted as he examined the stakes. He hadn't bothered to mark the spelled stake since it was the only one of that size he'd been carrying, but both stakes were about the same size. He had no idea which was which.

He raised his head and looked around. The number of vampires was thinning rapidly, and Gavin was distracted for the moment, but who knew how long that would last? He had to decide.

He stared at the stakes for a few seconds until an idea started to form. He'd had problems controlling his new vampire powers, but they were there. He just had to concentrate. Taking a deep breath before letting it out with a huff, he closed his eyes and raised one of the stakes, inhaling deeply. On the first one, he detected his own scent and a cheap, cloying cologne. His heart started to pound as he realized he couldn't remember what the other vampire had smelled like, but he forced himself to continue. This time his own smell was stronger, as was another scent, sweet and earthy, which had to be Bonnie, who'd spelled the stake, and something like brimstone, the magic itself. This was it. It had to be.

Jumping to his feet, he sprang into the circle and rushed to Katherine's side, pulling her up by her bound wrists. She gasped and stared at him, hope and something else shining through. For a moment, he fancied he was seeing the girl she'd once been, before Originals and thousand-year-old curses had worked their insidious magic on her.

"Rick!" she said breathlessly. "You came! I-" She broke off, her eyes widening as she saw the stake in his hand. She started to pull away, but, weakened by vervain and a lack of blood, she was in no state to resist him. "No! Please, Rick, don't!" Tears started to trickle down her cheeks. "Please. I love you."

Alaric's chest tightened and he wanted to pull her into his arms and just hold her, but he could see one of the vampires rushing at them from the corner of his eye. This had to come to an end. He tugged her closer until he was staring into her frightened eyes.

"Trust me," he breathed. His hand tightened on the stake. Be the right one.

He pressed his lips to hers, kissing her soundly, and then, pushing all doubts out of his mind, he drove the stake into her heart. She let out a surprised breath and then she stilled. He broke the kiss and gazed down at her graying face. The battle raging around him faded into the background as she grew cold and stiff in his arms. He dropped to his knees, holding her tightly as he rocked her body, oblivious to his surroundings until the only people left standing were his friends and Gavin.

"Go," Bonnie was saying. "Leave this place in peace. If Katherine knew the secret of Klaus's whereabouts, it died with her. There's nothing more you can do."

Gavin looked over at Katherine's dead body, his eyes boring into Alaric's for a long moment.

"We'll see about that," he said. Everyone jumped as a loud bang sounded and a cloud of smoke filled the clearing. When it dissipated, he was gone, along with the fire that had been encircling Alaric and Katherine.

"Rank amateur," Lucy said, shaking her head.

"Do you think he's gone for good?" Jeremy asked as he slipped his arm around Bonnie's shoulders.

Bonnie exchanged a glance with Lucy. "Yeah, I'm sure," she said. "He was just bluffing. With Katherine dead, there's no reason for him to stay around."

Alaric felt a presence next to him and he turned to find Damon crouched down next to him.

"Need any help?" Damon asked. His jaw tightened as he gazed down at Katherine and he reached down to stroke a lock of hair out of her face. Alaric resisted the urge to bat Damon's hand away.

"No, I've got her," Alaric said. He got to his feet awkwardly, unwilling to let go of her just for a moment. "I'll take care of her." He looked up to meet Bonnie's eyes and she gave him an encouraging smile.

"It's gonna work," she said, sounding confident. "I promise."

Alaric nodded as he shifted Katherine in his arms and then headed to his SUV. He just hoped Bonnie was right.

xXx

It took much longer than he'd expected, so much that he was starting to wonder if Bonnie had tricked them about being able to bring Katherine back or if he had mixed up the stakes after all, when she finally stirred. He instantly moved from the chair to the bed, sitting down next to her. Her eyes opened and she looked around in confusion for a moment before her gaze lit on him. She drew in a sharp breath and sat up, pulling up the covers protectively as she pressed against the headboard, her eyes narrowed in an accusing glare.

"You... you killed me."

"It was a spelled stake," Alaric said, holding up his hands to placate her. "You're obviously not dead."

As if to verify the truth of his words, Katherine lifted the sheet to examine her chest.

"Why am I naked?" she asked with a suspicious frown.

Alaric cleared his throat. "I, uh... don't have an answer to that."

Rolling her eyes, Katherine snorted and shook her head. "And Gavin?"

"Gone," Alaric said. "He left when he thought we'd killed you."

Katherine let out an exasperated groan. "Why didn't you kill him?" she asked "He'll be back as soon as he figures it out."

Alaric shrugged. "It was Bonnie's show," he said. "So we're just not gonna let him figure it out." His jaw set in a grim line.

Katherine stared at him for a long moment and then she sighed demonstratively.

"C'mere," she said, her face softening. She crooked her finger.

Alaric leaned forward and kissed her gently at first and then a little harder as all his frustration and fear came to the surface. Katherine's response was slow and hesitant, but then she was giving as good as she got, pressing against him with a sigh as she slid her fingers into his hair. After a moment, he broke away with reluctance, swallowing hard as he looked into her eyes.

"Okay," he said. "We need to set a few ground rules."

"Ground rules? That sounds... awesome."

"Katherine..."

"Go on." She waved her hand. "This should be good."

Alaric let out a put-upon sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. "All right," he said. He started to count off on his fingers. "Only blood bags from here on out. And no more killing-well, unnecessary killing. Not even criminals. We leave it up to law enforcement to give them their just deserts."

Katherine scowled. "And here I thought you were going to be 'fun'."

"Yeah, well, you shoulda thought of that before you turned a school teacher. Speaking of which, what is the real reason you turned me?"

"Rick..."

"I wanna know!" he said insistently. "I need to know."

Katherine looked down at her hands, suddenly very interested in her nails.

"You're hot, all right?" she said, her voice uncharacteristically small.

"Damon says I'm hot all the time, but he's never tried to turn me."

Katherine raised her head and stared at him for a long moment, and he could tell she was dying to ask under what circumstances Damon had told him he was hot.

"That's his loss," she said finally. "I also like you. A lot. So... I decided to keep you."

"That's so... twisted and wrong," Alaric said, a grin splitting his face despite his words. "And the warlock?"

"Coincidence," she said with a shrug. "You were just in the right place at the right time."

Alaric gazed at her for a long moment as he considered what she'd said. He didn't quite believe that her motives were pure, not by a long shot, but it was enough for now.

"So it's true, what you said. You're in love with me," he said with a smirk.

Katherine blanched and she started to pull away.

"Don't be an idiot!" she snarled, her voice taking on a panicky tone. "I do not love you. God, you're impossible! That was just... I was just... It was a lie, okay? So that you wouldn't kill me. Jesus. Now let me go. I'm leaving."

"Liar," he said hoarsely as he quickly stood up and grabbed her, pulling her towards him again. "And I'm not letting you run away again, like you did with everyone else. You belong to me now. And that's that."

"Rick..." Her voice had a warning tone, but she let Alaric tug her into his arms, which he considered to be a good sign.

"Kat..." He tried not to laugh as her eyes narrowed. He brushed his lips against hers, just barely. "Promise me you'll stay."

Katherine let out an exaggerated sigh. "For now," she said, closing the distance to press her mouth more firmly against his. Alaric let her kiss him for a moment and then he pulled away.

"Forever."

"Don't press your luck," she said, but he could hear the suppressed laughter in her voice.

"OK, that's good enough, I guess," he murmured. "For now. I love you, Katherine."

"I... possibly like you enough not to kill you in your sleep later. Unless you call me 'Kat' again."

Alaric laughed. "Fair enough," he said. His face grew serious as he pulled her closer still. "Don't do that to me ever again. I don't know what I would've done if you'd died."

"Well, Damon does think you're hot," Katherine said. "I'm sure he would've found some way to 'comfort' you." Her tone was light, but Alaric thought he detected a note of jealousy.

"I'm sure he would've," Alaric said, pushing her back onto the mattress. "But right now, all I wanna think about is you and me and what we're about to do on this here bed..."

xXx

Alaric awoke slowly, grinning as he stretched. He felt like he was waking up, fresh and new, after a long sleep. Then his hand fell on the empty pillow beside his and his eyes flew open. She was gone.

He'd only just begun to register his disappointment as the door to the bedroom flew open and Katherine marched in with mussed up hair, wearing his shirt and carrying two steaming mugs of coffee along with the newspaper. She crawled onto the bed, passing him his mug before sitting down next to him. Without a word, she handed him the sports section and then opened the business section.

"Why do you assume I want the sports page?" he asked.

"Because you have a penis," she said matter-of-factly, not even looking up from the paper.

Alaric snorted and reached for his coffee. Taking a sip, he leaned back against the headboard and slung his arm around Katherine, pulling her close as they both read the paper in companionable silence.

Finis

Since this was written for the TVD Big Bang on Live Journal, there's also gorgeous art and a mix by the brilliant sourpony! It can be found here: hxxp : / / colourkills . livejournal . com / 49192 . html (replace the x with t and delete the space characters). That post includes a link to the story on my LJ where you can see the art together with the story. Enjoy!