Part 8

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by quteyx

by quteyx

Damon walks back into his house with a sour mood. Stefan passes by him with a smirk on his lips. "How'd it go?" He asks, feeling like it probably went well since he was gone all day with Madeline.

"Oh it was splendid, Stefan. We went for a walk around the block and somewhere along the way I got this feeling in my stomach. I thought maybe it was butterflies at first but then I realized it was actually a stake." Damon shrugs, chucking his leather coat across the room, knocking down a few priceless heirlooms from their shelves.

"What?!" Stefan is shocked. How did his afternoon end in a stake? How is he alive? How did they know to stake him? How do they know of his identity? What does this mean for them. "Who?"

"Oh no, I'm fine, Stefan. Totally recovered thank you." Damon shakes his head. Everyone thinks Stefan is so selfless but Damon knows the truth. "Madeline was kind enough to pull the tree stump out of my stomach before absolutely freaking out."

"Oh god, Madeline. She must have been so scared." Stefan worries about what she could be thinking right now.

"Oh yeah she was petrified but let's worry about that and not your favorite brother almost dying!"

"You're my only brother, Damon."

"Your favorite by default." Damon adds. "It still makes me your favorite."

"Who staked you, Damon. We need to take care of this." Stefan turns into the hero everyone knows him as.

"Oh no, there's nothing to take care of. It was an accident. Katherine ensured me the next time, she wouldn't miss." Damon tells his brother to not worry about it. Obviously he is being sarcastic. His favorite.

"Katherine? Katherine is back?" Stefan wipes his face, unable to believe the madness his brother is speaking. He does not want to believe it could be true. They have worked so hard to get rid of her. She has been gone for years. They thought they had gotten rid of her.

"That's what I just said. What part didn't you understand?"

"We have to do something." Stefan returns to his seriousness, trying to think of a plan.

"No shit." Damon pours himself a glass of bourbon while Stefan continues to think.

"I think the first thing is to protect Madeline. I'll call Care and-" Stefan watches as his brother slumps down on the couch, his head resting at the top. Stefan can see Damon is hurting. He sits beside his brother. "What else happened out there?"

"She kissed me," Damon spills.

"Katherine?" Stefan asks him to clarify.

"What? No! Well, yes. But I meant Madeline," Damon sits up straighter.

"That's great, Damon! She kissed you!" Stefan try's to be cheerful for his brother. As long as compulsion was not involved, this is a great step for him.

Damon laughs sadly. "Yeah, then I compelled her to forget about it." He finishes the story with its depressing ending.

Stefan thinks of why Damon might have done that. "She saw the whole thing and you compelled her to forget everything, including the kiss," Stefan connects all of the pieces he thinks he is missing. He places his hand on Damon's knee to comfort him. "I'm sorry Damon. You did the right thing, though." He hopes this bit of information will bring home some semblance of peace.

"Yeah and it sucked." Damon stands and walks up the stairs. "We need to find a way to kill that bitch before she ruins another date for me."