The Devil's Daughter

Trigger

                Damon took a deep breath, hoping his plan would work. Kate's emotions had been off for weeks, and she'd done nothing but become a stone cold ripper. Having her trapped in Mystic Falls didn't help, either. She'd been becoming more and more dangerous, holding to her promise to make Damon's life a living Hell. She nearly killed Bonnie in an act of rage.

A knock on his bedroom door pulled Damon from his thoughts. It was Elena. She was stunning in her gold ball gown. "Are you ready?" she asked innocently.

"Ready for what? The guy I hate most in the world coming back here so we can meet up to discuss a plan to get my daughter to fall back in love with him?" He shook his head.

"Hey," Elena started, resting her hand on his shoulder, "Tonight is the easy part. Besides, you know Kol would do anything for Kate."

"That's what I'm scared of," he sighed. "Did you make sure she wouldn't come tonight?"

"Matt said he had that taken care of. He didn't give me many details, but it seemed like he had it under control."

"Good, it'll be nice to have one less problem for a change." He looked at his phone. "Well, we better get going."

At the Michaelson Mansion

Damon and Elena walked in, arm in arm. They were first met by Stefan, Caroline, and Bonnie. "Is everything set?" Stefan asked.

"She won't be showing up tonight, if that's what you're asking," Damon answered. He saw Bonnie flinch a bit, and cringed at the healing wound on her neck. He couldn't believe that Kate was capable of that, but every vampire is stronger with their emotions turned off.

Klaus, Rebekah, and Elijah came to the group next. "Kol said he's is about a half hour away, and that he promises not to cause any trouble," Elijah stated.

"Somehow I'm not sure if I believe him," Damon muttered. While the others went on their separate ways, Klaus pulled Damon to the side.

"I get that you're apprehensive, but you have nothing to worry about. Trust me, I care for Kate just as much as you do. If I didn't think that this was what she needed, then I wouldn't have invited Kol back in the first place." For some odd reason, this did make Damon feel better about the situation. He hated that he had to share his father role with Klaus, but he knew that he truly cared for Kate as if she was his own.

"Am I late?" a voice echoed behind them. Both of them turned around in disbelief. Kate stood before them in a floor length black ball gown. "You looked shocked to see me?" she smiled.

Damon's plan was falling apart in front of him. He couldn't possibly discuss the plan with Kol with Kate lurking around. Klaus sensed this, too, and he decided to take charge of the situation. Christina Perri's A Thousand Years started playing. Klaus extended his arm.

"It seems that it's time for that age old waltz. Care to dance?" She smiled sickly.

"Sure." Damon went to dance with Elena, hoping she would have some solution to his problem.

"You'll never guess who's here," he whispered. Elene looked him in the eyes.

"How? I thought Matt- Matt, oh my gosh, what happened to him?" Elena almost ran off, but Daman held her arm reassuringly.

"She has her humanity off, but she isn't stupid. She knows that if she did anything to Matt there would be backlash, and there are only so many places to hide in Mystic Falls." She let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding.

"I guess you're right. Okay, so what are we going to do about her?"

"I was hoping you would have an idea. I can't exactly discuss things with Kol with her lurking around, and I don't trust him to just do the right thing without any direction." Elena shook her head.

"I think you're doubting him too much."

"Elena-"

"Trust me, Damon, I've seen what Kol is capable of. It's just, he's different around Kate. Something in him changes when he's around her, and he wouldn't do anything to get him blocked out of Mystic Falls again."

Meanwhile, Klaus was trying to get in touch with Kate's humanity. "What happened to you?" he asked.

"What do mean?" she asked, annoyed.

"What happened to the girl I saved from being- well, you know. What happened to the girl who took a bullet for me?"

"She got hurt by the people she loved most, and became trapped in a place where the one person who could help her couldn't go." She muttered.

"I get that you're hurt, but this is insane. You aren't a ripper, and you never were. I've never seen you with your emotions off before, but I can't imagine you being this bad."

"Klaus, you don't get it. I have lost everything, and you still don't see what's wrong with that. In the past year, I found out my dad was just as screwed up as I thought he was, found out my mother never loved me, and lost the one person who actually understood me. If you expect me to deal with that then you're just the monster everyone assumes you are."

It had come time for the partner switch, to Kate's relief. She curtsied, hoping her new partner wasn't anybody she knew. As she lifted her head to meet his eyes, she nearly fell over. He pulled her closer and they began gliding across the floor like the other pairs.

"Kol," she muttered, barely over a whisper.

"I've missed you, Kate." He flashed that million dollar smile that she fell in love with years ago, and she felt something inside her lurch.

"How?"

"Damon had Bonnie lift the spell. I can now enter and leave Mystic Falls whenever I please." Her face grew dark.

"They only let you back so you could flip my switch," she mumbled, looking down. He lifted her chin, so her eyes met his.

"You need your humanity, love. Please, just turn it on and we can pick up where we left off."

"Kol-"

"What? Isn't that what you want?"

"Of course it is. That's all I wanted since you left. The thing is, it hurt when you left. Even though we could have talked across the border, or called, or texted-" he cut her off.

"You wouldn't have moved on. I had to make a tough choice and let you go because I didn't think they would ever let me see you. I wanted you to be happy. Please, will you come back?" A single tear slid down her face.

"I flipped it back as soon as I saw you." He squeezed her waist tighter and smiled.

"Kate you have-" Kol was interrupted by Kate's laughing.

"I'm sorry," she laughed, "It's just, did you actually believe that? I mean, I'm not that good," she giggled.

"You mean?" Kol started, unable to finish his sentence.

"I guess you aren't my emotional trigger."

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