chapter sixteen,

After forcing Marian to get changed and help persuade Damon to join them on their road trip, the girl had been nothing but bored, sitting in the backseat behind the two vampires. She'd promised it would be fun.

"Isn't this nice?" Katherine asked, breaking the silence that had taken over the car. "Three of the five sexiest people on the planet in one car, enjoying each other's company. You know, I'll bet that if we'd—"

"Katherine, I swear to God if you don't shut up I will kill you," Marian growled. She'd had enough of Katherine to last a lifetime.

"Who are the other two?" Damon interrupted.

Katherine gave him a satisfied smirk. "Let's just say one is a brother, and one is an uncle." Marian stuck her tongue out with disgust. Elijah had once confessed his attraction to Katherine.

"You're disgusting," Marian gagged.

"I'm just stating the facts," the vampire shrugged.

"Remind me again why I'm here?" she complained. She was anxious to get back to Mystic Falls to see what her uncle and aunt were up to. Neither vampire responded. "Where are we going?" She tried to sound as childish as she could. "Are we there yet?"

The car began to slow down.

"Why are we stopping?" Katherine asked as Damon parked the car.

"I thought we might want to stretch our legs. Take a break from the sexual tension. I'm tired of driving. It's your turn." Marian agreed. He jutted a thumb in her direction. "And she's annoying the hell out of me."

"Hey!" Marian argued. He shut the door to block her voice out.

"Fine." He held out the keys to her, only to throw them away as she was about to take them. "Hey! I ..."

"We're not going anywhere until you spill your guts," he said. Marian stayed in the back of the car, not bothered as the two spoke. She listened to their muffled conversation through the door.

"Fine," she huffed, taking something out of her pocket. It was Elena's necklace, Marian noticed; though it had once belonged to her grandmother. "Do you recognise this, hmm? A little birdy told me that Klaus wants to get his hands on it."

"Why would Klaus want Elena's necklace?" Damon asked. Marian frowned, thinking the same thing.

"Does it matter? He wants it, and I have it. It's leverage, Damon. Always stay one step ahead of your enemy," she reminded him.

"I'll keep that in mind," he muttered.

"But more importantly, when I stole the necklace from Bonnie, I found out something else ... Something better."

"Oh, yeah? What's that?" Marian could see that he didn't believe her.

"Are you willing to do whatever it takes to stop Klaus? No turning back?"

The girl huffed, opening her car door with annoyance. "Really? You're still trying to kill him?"

Damon ignored her. "I'm not turning back," he said.

"Good. Because this isn't going to win you any points at home." She opened the trunk of Damon's car, revealing an unconscious Jeremy Gilbert. Marian stood in shock; she really hadn't expected this at all. The last time she'd seen Jeremy was when he was with Bonnie at her house.

"Jeremy? Really?"

...

Damon laid Jeremy on a picnic table, the two vampires sitting with him. "I'm listening," he prompted. Marian nodded, glaring pointedly at Katherine.

"What if I told you there was a way to kill Klaus? And not dagger-dead. Dead-dead." Marian felt her heart race.

"You wouldn't," she said deeply.

"I'd say you were desperate and lying. Or drunk. Or desperate, lying and drunk," Damon said quickly.

"Do you remember my friend Pearl?" Katherine asked.

"Vividly," he responded.

"Centuries ago, she told me about a vampire who knew how to kill Klaus. Then she wouldn't tell me any more," Katherine explained.

"Well, why not?"

"Because it was her leverage. She knew it was valuable information and wouldn't share it with me." Smart move, Marian thought.

"Well, this is all great ... But she's dead."

"Which is why I never brought it up. Because she only ever told one other person," Katherine continued. Marian groaned. Of course, she thought. She'd brought Jeremy to talk to Anna.

"Who?"

"Her daughter. Anna."

"Also dead," Damon noted.

"Which brings us right back around to ..."

Suddenly, Jeremy woke up. "To me," he said.

"What the hell!" Marian exclaimed, surprised by his sudden voice. How did he know what they were talking about?

...

"This isn't going to work," Jeremy said.

"I think that your witchy girlfriend's worried that you've run away with your ghostly lover," Katherine announced, reading a message Bonnie had sent Jeremy.

"Stop with the teenybopper drama. Focus," Damon urged.

Marian watched as Jeremy took a deep breath, willing himself to try and focus on seeing Anna. Then, he opened his eyes, looking next to him on the table.

"No, it's okay to help," he said. It looked strange to her; she could see nothing. She could tell that Katherine and Damon found it peculiar too. "They're looking for a way to stop Klaus."

"No we're not," Marian mumbled angrily. She wondered why Katherine had brought her along.

"What's she saying?" Damon asked.

"Well, she doesn't want to help you," Jeremy revealed.

"My advice?" Katherine whispered to Damon. "If you want to make an omelette, you have to break a few eggs." Marian groaned in displeasure as Damon walked up to Jeremy.

"Jeremy, I just want you to know, it's nothing personal." Marian jumped as he hit Jeremy's head against the table.

"Damon!" she screamed, ripping his arms off of the boy.

"Ow! What the hell?" Jeremy complained.

"Anna, I know you can hear me," Damon said, looking around. "Tell us what you know. The sooner, the better for your little boyfriend here."

"Mikael!" Jeremy shouted suddenly. Damon let him go as Katherine spoke. Marian froze, gasping in shock. Not him. Anyone but him.

"Mikael. Is that his name?" Marian shook her head and took a step back in disbelief. Katherine looked to her, noticing that she looked particularly uncomfortable and ... afraid?

"Who's Mikael?" Damon asked. "What's she saying?"

"No," Marian muttered. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no—"

"Hello!" Katherine tried impatiently.

"He's a vampire and a Hunter." Jeremy said to them.

"You guys would be idiots to wake him," Marian sneered.

"What do you mean 'wake him'?" Jeremy asked, more to Anna.

"It's time to go find the keys," Damon said, Katherine humming in agreement.

Suddenly, Marian felt dizzy, falling to the ground with a loud thump. Damon quickly rushed to pick her up.

"And there's our confirmation," Katherine said matter-of-factly.

...

Marian woke up with a loud groan, sitting up in the backseat of Damon's car. "What happened?" she asked, seeing Damon sitting in the driver's seat. "Where's Jer? And Katherine?"

"You fainted. We're at the hospital," he responded without emotion. Damon put his hand on the back of the passenger's seat, turning around to look at the confused girl. "Who's Mikael?" Her eyes widened momentarily. "Your heart's beating like crazy," he noted.

"He's not someone you want to get mixed up with," she muttered, putting her hand to her head. Her whole body hurt.

"You've got to give me more than that," he prompted. "Why is he so bad?"

"He's killed me five times to get to my family," she answered. "Hunting me down has become a sport to him. He hates vampires, and he doesn't care what he has to do to get rid of them all."

He nodded his head, tensing his jaw—he was thinking. Without warning, he opened his car door and unbuckled his seatbelt. "Get out. Elena's here and I told your mom I'd take you to your check-up." She slowly took off her seatbelt, getting out of the car with him.

"Well, look who finally decided to show up to the party." Marian looked up at the sound of her uncle's voice. He wore a taunting smirk on his face.

"Where is she?" Damon demanded. Marian frowned at the harshness of his voice.

"Elena? Ah, she's making a donation to a greater cause." Damon stepped toward the hospital, only to be stopped by Klaus' arm. What did he mean? "I'm afraid I can't let you interfere, mate."

"You'll have to kill me," Damon said confidently.

"Oh, I would love to kill you, but my niece likes you and I made a pledge to your brother, and unlike him, I keep my word." He paused for a moment. "Although, you know what? Thinking about it now, he probably doesn't care that much anymore." He pushed Damon against the hood of a car. Marian yelled hopelessly, watching as he was about to kill him.

"Don't you want to know about your friend Mikael?" Damon taunted. She could see the fear in Klaus' eyes, mirroring her own. Mikael had done more terrible things to her uncle than anyone else in her family—even more than the things he'd done to her.

"What do you know about Mikael?" Klaus growled.

"Just that he knows you're here."

Klaus stepped back. "You're bluffing."

"Katherine and I found him. Consider it our leverage," he quipped. Klaus threw him harshly against another car, pushing Damon to the ground. He'd disappeared by the time Damon could get back up. Sighing in relief, he made his way to the entrance of the hospital.

"You didn't mean it, did you?" Marian asked in a small voice. "About Mikael?" Damon looked down at her, seeing how afraid she was. "I don't think you actually understand what he can do."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Don't you worry, pretty girl," he said. "I'll keep you safe." She shook her head. "Relax, okay? We can handle this." They made their way up to the front desk. "Marian Whitman for Dr. Rushmore," Damon announced. The woman at the desk gestured towards the waiting area, telling them that it won't be long before she's called.

"You go deal with Elena, I'll be okay," Marian told him.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yeah," she nodded. She didn't particularly feel like being around Damon at the moment, especially if what he had said about Mikael knowing where they were was true. "I'm sure."

part ii:

tvd s3, e5, ""

wc: