The Devil's Dance

Chapter Nine - Play Nurse

I don't even really have an excuse other than a lack of inspiration and the complete ass-kicking uni has given me this year. I'm sorry this isn't up to the standard you guys deserve. I hope you enjoy anyway.

"Hey Tyler, it's me - again - um, which I'm sure you realised since I've left you about forty more of these messages. I just really want to talk to you, so, uh- please call me. I'm really sorry. Okay, bye."

I breathed a sigh through my nose as I hung up the phone for what felt like the millionth time. I tossed my phone onto the coffee table and lent back in the couch, my head resting on the back as I sighed again.

"Still no answer?" Damon's voice asked as he walked into the parlour, the ends of his hair still noticeably damp from his morning shower.

"No, he's pissed at me," I said, "And I don't blame him. He needed me and I wasn't there. Hell, I'm pissed at me."

"It's not your fault," Damon said, "You didn't ask to be kidnapped by crazy, loser vampires."

"I think as far as excuses go, it sounds about as lame as you can get," I groaned, "He won't believe me."

"Well, that's his loss," Damon shrugged, looking annoyingly unfazed by my situation, "Besides, I have something that I think might cheer you up."

"Unless it's a life-time supply of candy bars I don't think there's anything that could cheer me up at this moment in time," I grumbled.

"That's good to know," a new voice said, and at the sound I snapped around to see my little brother standing at the entrance to the parlour with a small smile on his face.

"Stefan!" I cried, sitting up and hopping over the back of the couch to rush to my brother, "When did you- How did you get out of the tomb?"

"Elijah got me out," Stefan said, looking awfully troubled at the fact, "Elena made a deal with him."

"A deal?" I asked, "What kind of deal?"

"She's going to help him kill Klaus," Stefan said, a secret storm brewing behind his eyes, "In return, Elijah's going to protect her and everyone she loves."

"Well, that's a good thing, right?" I said, "Elijah's a boss, if anyone can protect her he can."

"I don't trust him," Damon piped in, "We're better protecting her ourselves."

"Elena clearly trusts him, and that's what matters," I said, "You can't dictate her life forever."

My brothers both looked like they wanted to say something else but thought better of it when they saw the look on my face. I still wasn't Elena's biggest fan but I could definitely see her side on this, and if agreeing and defending Elena and all her decisions was what I had to do to keep my brothers safe then that's what I would do.

"How are you feeling?" I asked as I walked into the library.

Rose was sitting in front of the fire, her head bowed slightly as she stared into the flames. Visible tremors were running at intervals through her body, her eyes were red and hollowed and her skin pale. She did not look good in the slightest and I felt a pang of pity flash through me as I looked at the older vampire.

"Did your brother send you in here to check on me?" she asked in her clipped accent.

"No, I just wanted to ask for myself," I said, "Damon's worried about you, he won't admit it, but he is. My brother, he's funny that way, he doesn't like people to know he cares, and he cares about you, I can see it. So, I'm asking for myself, because if Damon cares about you then..."

"Then you do too," Rose finished for me, "I understand."

As she said that a violent shiver jolted through her and she let out a soft whimper in what I assumed to be pain.

"Are you cold?" I asked.

"It changes," she said, sniffing, "Minutes pass and I feel like I'm submerged in ice and then next thing I know I feel like I'm sitting in the desert."

I hopped up at her words and walked over to the couch, bringing it back towards where she was sitting and draping it over her shoulders.

"Thanks," she mumbled, "It feels weird, I haven't been sick in five-hundred years."

"Five hundred?"

"I was born in 1450," she told me, "That makes me five hundred and sixty years old."

"Well, if you were a bottle of wine..." a new voice interrupted us and I turned to watch my twin walk into the room, a bag of blood in his hand.

"So I can die," Rose continued, "I've lived long enough."

"Don't say that," I said.

"You know, if you're gonna be a drag, I'm just gonna kill you myself to put me out of your misery," Damon joked, but I could see in his eyes the worry and pity he felt for her.

"My gallant brother, ladies and gentlemen, always thinking of others," I muttered.

Other than a slightly amused eye-roll I was ignored.

"Come on, it's just a little werewolf bite," Damon said as he started pouring the contents of the blood-bag into a glass.

"Just a lethal, fatal-to-a-vampire, werewolf bite," Rose retorted.

"Well, according to legend," Damon said, "Which is a notoriously unreliable source. Drink up."

I watched as Damon passed the glass of thick, red blood from his hand to Rose's quivering one, tiny ripples appearing in the blood as Rose's hand shook.

"Blood heals," Damon encouraged as we both watched Rose raise the glass to her pale lips.

"Yeah, it doesn't feel like it's working," Rose muttered after a small sip.

"It might take some time," I offered with a gentle smile.

"Let's have a look," Damon said, starting to tug at the hem of her shirt, "Come on, let me see."

I walked around to stand beside my brother and watched, in silent anticipation, as Damon slowly lifted the bottom of Rose's shirt up at the back. It was obvious at first glance that the wound on her back was infinitely worse since the last time I'd seen it, since she had been bitten. The skin looked to be charred and decaying, parts of the flesh had turned black and green and a weird, clear liquid seemed to be seeping from different parts of the pulsing wound. It looked nothing short of ghastly, especially compared to the smoothness of Rose's skin further down her back.

"How is it?" Rose asked, her voice sounding wary and afraid as she looked over her shoulder to look at Damon and I.

"Definitely better," Damon lied smoothly, "Right, Elena?"

I had been so focused on Rose's ugly wound that I hadn't even noticed Elena enter the room. I turned around to look at the human girl and saw her staring - the shock and disgust evident on her face - at Rose's back. I sent her a meaningful and reproachful look and - much to her credit - she was quick to cover up her repulsion.

"Uh, it's not bad."

Smooth Elena.

"Where's Stefan?" Damon asked from beside me as I stepped forward to help Rose roll her shirt carefully over her bite.

"He left," Elena answered, "I need you to talk to him. He's convinced that he has to find Isobel but I think that's going to upset Elijah."

"No can do," Damon replied, "I'm with Stefan on this one."

"C'mon Damon," I sighed, "Surely upsetting Elijah is the last thing we should be doing."

"I agree," Elena piped up, and we shared a look, one that said 'yes I'm as surprised we're agreeing as you are'.

"And that's why Stefan and I are in charge of this operation," Damon smirked, "We're clearly the most logical of the four of us."

"Oh please," I cried, "On your own heads be it. You two will be the ones most upset when this whole plan falls through and Elijah gets pissed and backs out of the deal."

"A deal that should never have been made in the first place," Damon replied, staring down at me, trying, and failing, to intimidate me, "Now, Stef and I are going to sort out this mess while you two stay here and play nurse."

"It's not necessary," Rose piped up.

"It is necessary," Damon insisted, "Elena is a do-gooder. It's in her nature, she just can't resists. And Amelia, well, her annoying personality will keep you distracted from the pain."

"Asshole," I muttered.

Damon grinned at me before, without another word, he turned and left the room leaving Rose, Elena and I. The one human in the room, however, glanced between the two vampires, almost nervously, her gaze lingering on Rose's now covered back before she followed my brother.

"Looks like it's just us two," I said to Rose and received a tight-lipped smile in return.

"Damon, is she going to die?"

Elena's voice, even though she had lowered it in an attempt not to be eavesdropped, drifted into the room and I knew if I could hear it then Rose - with her four hundred odd years on me - certainly could.

"Probably," was Damon's reply and I cringed, throwing a glance towards Rose, but she didn't seem to have been affected at all by what my twin had said, in fact she looked as if she was pretending she couldn't hear, "The wolf bite caused some kind of infection and it's getting worse."

"Like poison?" Elena asked.

"I don't know, Elena, I'm not an expert in the field."

"I'm sorry," Elena murmured.

"Death happens. We come, we go. Sooner she dies the better. It's gloomy as hell in here."

Rose's façade of pretending she couldn't hear did crack a little at my brother's last words. A tiny crease had appeared between her eyebrows, as she stared at the door Damon and Elena had not long disappeared through. Although, I knew that Damon had certainly not meant his words. In the short span of time he had known her, Damon and come to care for Rose and I knew her current state was affecting him a lot more than he let on, but that was Damon's way. He pretended not to care just because he cared so much, often too much, and didn't want the people he cared about to see him like that. Grudgingly, I realised Damon and I had that in common.

I cleared my throat awkwardly as I turned to Rose again and said, "So, the 15th century, not having a sewage system must've been fun..."

Elena and I had left Rose resting on the sofa and went downstairs to gather up a couple of blood bags to keep upstairs next to our patient.

"We should maybe take her up to bed," Elena said, as she opened up the fridge we kept stocked with blood, "Bed rest always helps."

"Yeah, it won't make her any worse anyway," I shrugged as I reached in and started to pile the bags into my arms.

"Did she hear?" Elena asked me, I could see her concerned gaze lingering on me out of the corner of my eye.

"Hear what?"

"What Damon said earlier," Elena elaborated, even though she knew that I knew well enough what she was talking about.

"Of course she heard Elena," I sighed, although there was no malice in my voice, it wasn't Elena I was pissed at, hell, I wasn't even pissed at Damon. I was just mad at how things had turned out.

"I should go apologise," Elena muttered.

"You don't need to," I said, handing her some of the blood bags to carry upstairs, "Rose understands."

"But Damon shouldn't have said-"

"You're right," I interrupted, "He shouldn't have said what he did, but he didn't mean it. Rose knows that. He does care about her and when she dies, yes, he'll be upset. But this is the way he deals with things so we've just got to let him."

Elena studied me for a moment before she nodded silently. I nodded in return and reached over to close the fridge.

"Y'know, I think this is the first proper conversation we've ever had," Elena said.

"Yeah, well, don't get used to it," I replied, but the small smile I sent her told her I didn't mean it - not really.

Together, Elena and I persuaded Rose that the best thing for her was probably to get up to bed with a nice, cold glass of blood - she would be most comfortable there and right now, that's all Elena and I could do for her. At first, she was hesitant, not wanting to appear weak, but after she almost fell to the floor following a fit of coughing and all that kept her up was Elena's supporting arm around her, she started to see sense.

"You can go into Damon's room," I said, as I led Rose, who was being supported by Elena, up the stairs, "Feel free to cough all over his stuff."

"I hate this," Rose grumbled as I opened the door to Damon's bedroom and led the two girls inside, "I'm a vampire. I haven't had a cold in five centuries."

"Just get in the bed," Elena insisted, gently pushing the sick vampire down.

"We don't get sick," Rose continued, "When we die, it's fast and sudden. And it's certainly not drawn out by illness."

"You're not going to die," Elena replied, and I threw her a look that she missed.

"That's such a human thing to say," Rose said, almost wistfully.

Elena didn't answer her, and we both watched as she took a long look around the room - this was obviously the first time she had been in Damon's bedroom. Rose and I watched her with bemused looks on our faces as Elena wandered over to his bookshelf and pulled out one I immediately recognised as Gone with the Wind.

"Not what you expected?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest, a smirk fighting its way onto my face.

"It's just a room with a bed," Elena shrugged, "Maybe I expected there to be silk sheets."

I couldn't help the snort of laughter that escaped me, and Rose and Elena shared a smile.

"You're lucky you know," Rose said, staring towards Elena, "No one's ever loved me the way you're loved... Both of you, really."

"I doubt that," Elena said, throwing a somewhat uncomfortable look in my direction. I just shrugged.

"Trevor was my best friend," Rose elaborated, "Nothing more. I spent all those years on the run from Elijah, from Elanor. I just never thought it was a good idea to set up roots. The whole idea of family is not exactly compatible with being a vampire - well, I never thought it was until I met you and your brothers, Amelia."

"Yeah, well, it's been complicated," I told her, as I turned to start pouring some blood into a glass for her.

Rose didn't ask me to continue, instead, she turned to Elena and asked, "Why are you so eager to give up?"

"I'm not giving up," Elena said as I passed her to give Rose her blood.

"Then what do you call this deal with Elijah?" Rose asked, taking the glass wordlessly.

"I call it my best option," was Elena's answer.

"It's the easiest option."

"Hey, that's not fair," I piped up in Elena's defence.

"Do you really think that your witch friend destroyed the moonstone?" Rose asked.

"I spoke with Bonnie," Elena explained, "I know that she had the help of another witch - unless you mean it's Elijah's witch. So, no. I don't."

"You really are determined to die aren't you. I least I ran, you're not even trying," Rose muttered, although there was really no spite in her voice, she just sounded tired.

"Will you guys excuse me for a second?" Elena said, suddenly, and without waiting for an answer, turned and left the room.

"You shouldn't be so hard on her," I said softly, sitting down on the edge of the bed, "She is trying."

"She's not," Rose replied, "She's giving up. What I wouldn't give to..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but I could guess what she was thinking. What she wouldn't give to be in Elena's position, to be human.

"I know," I said, "But we're not. We have an outsiders view on this, we can't really fathom what Elena's going through. But I know, that if it were me, and my brothers' lives were being threatened, I would do what Elena did - a thousand times over."

"I guess that's the difference between you and I," Rose sighed, "I admire your selflessness. You and Elena's."

"I've done some pretty selfish things in my time," I contradicted.

Rose simply threw me a look and I quietened immediately. We sat in silence for a few minutes, only broken by Rose's occasional sniffs.

Elena didn't seem to be in any hurry to make her return so I turned to Rose and asked, "Rose, can you tell me about Elanor?"

"What do you want to know?" Rose asked, her voice sounding weaker the more she spoke. I couldn't help feel a little guilty at using her precious energy for my own selfish endeavour, but I needed to know this.

"Who is she?" I asked, "To Elijah? To Klaus?... to me?"

"What I'm about to tell you is all rumours I've heard from other people who knew them. I've never really taken the time out of running for my life to ask them personal questions," Rose began, "Elanor grew up with Elijah and Klaus during the 10th century-"

"The 10th century?!" I asked incredulously.

Rose threw me a 'shut the hell up' look before she continued, "They grew up in the same village together, their fathers were friends so they were very close growing up. Although she grew up to be closer to one more than the other..."

"Let me guess, Elanor and Elijah?" I asked.

Rose simply nodded.

"Were they together? Like romantically?"

"You could say that," Rose said, "I've never seen them together, but I guess after a thousand year love affair you don't have to spend every waking moment together."

"It's a wonder neither of them has killed the other," I chuckled a little as I digested the new information.

"They are both very deep in Klaus' inner circle," Rose continued, "But I think Elanor only does what Klaus says because of Elijah. She never did seem entirely comfortable doing his bidding."

"Yeah she did seem like a 'no nonsense, take no crap from anyone' kind of gal," I smirked.

"That's one way of putting it," Rose nodded, "I would say that Elanor is one of the very few people Klaus actually gives a little bit of a crap about."

"That brings me onto my next question actually," I began, "What am I to Klaus?"

"What do you mean?" Rose asked, although the way she unconsciously shifted told me that she knew exactly what I meant.

"Rose," I warned, throwing her a look that said it all.

She sighed, "Around the beginning of the 20th century, a name started cropping up amidst rumours of Klaus. Everyone said, this girl is tied to Klaus, she has significance. I didn't even believe she existed until..."

"Until you met me," I finished for her.

She nodded, slowly as if the movement required a lot of effort, "There was a lot of talk of using you to get to Klaus, because people said that they could make a deal with him using you."

"But why?" I asked, "Why do I matter to Klaus? I've never even met the guy."

But Rose's eyes were shutting and she mumbled out, "I'm so tired."

"Rose, please, tell me," I all but begged, knowing that this could be my one opportunity to find out the truth I had been desperate to know for a while now.

But Rose was gone, her eyes were drooping shut and her head was turning further into her pillow. With a grumble I stood up, and angrily kicked at Damon's night-stand. It thudded against the wall with a bang but Rose remained unresponsive.

"What was that?" Elena asked as she hurried into the room, watching me warily as I loomed over the semi-unconscious Rose.

"She fell asleep," I offered, weakly, as my explanation, before moving to walk past Elena and out of the room.

"No, stop, wait," Rose mumbled weakly and for a second I thought I was going to get the answers I so desperately wanted, "Tell them to prepare the horses."

Or maybe not...

"It's okay, Rose, just get some sleep," Elena soothed, "You'll feel better when you wake up."

"Trevor, don't be so stupid," Rose mumbled, "You'll never make it there before the sun."

"She's delirious," I said, stepping forward and placing my hand gingerly on Rose's perspiration covered forehead before snapping it back at the intense heat I felt, "She's burning up."

"What do we do?" Elena asked, looking at me in something close to panic.

"I don't know, I've not had many opportunities to play nurse to sick, hallucinating vampires," I answered.

Suddenly, Rose bolted up, quite like Dracula arising from his coffin, gasping for breath, "Elena, Amelia, I need more blood."

"Yeah, of course, here," Elena said hurriedly, extending the glass of blood to Rose.

We both watched nervously as Rose gulped down the blood before, with a spluttering cough, it was regurgitated, staining Damon's bed sheets red.

"It's okay, everything's going to be alright," Elena tried to reassure the sick vampire.

"You get a cloth to wash her off and I'll go get some clean bed sheets," I told Elena, shakily, struggling to take my eyes off of Rose.

Elena nodded once, looking as nervous as I felt and we both turned to go our separate ways. As soon as I exited Damon's room I took a deep, calming breath before hurrying down the hallway towards the linen closet. I began to dig through, looking for the things I needed before I heard a quiet thud. I didn't think much of it until I heard the scream.

"Amelia!"

I was running down the hall as fast as I could, the air whooshing behind me as I hurried towards Elena's terrified cry for help. I tore into Damon's room and without a second thought, rushed towards Rose and tore her away from where she had Elena pinned against the wall, pushing her out of the way so I stood between her and the frightened human girl.

For a second, Rose seemed to be in another world, in another time, before she stopped to study me, the aggression disappearing from her face, a look of confusion replacing it, "Amelia?"

"Yeah, Rose, it's me," I confirmed.

Rose turned to look at Elena, the confusion not erasing from her face as she asked, "Katerina?"

"No, this is Elena, Rose, remember," I said, "It's Elena."

"Elena?"

"Yeah, it's me, Elena," Elena replied.

"Oh my god, Elena," Rose gushed, her face returning to normal as she realised the situation, "I'm so sorry. I don't know what's happening to me. I'm sorry."

"You're going to be alright," Elena tried to pacify her, but from the discreet look she threw me we both knew that couldn't be further from the truth.

Thanks to: tayluhm94, Guest, BADASS Pierce, chucktastic, OLICITY-of-All-Kind-LOVER, XxMikaelsonForeverxX, Emily, RHatch89, Guest, Lucy Greenhill, Amelia-bella1 for reviewing the last chapter.