Summary: Set in S8. Based on the song “Not Meant To Be.” Katherine comes back to life after escaping the 1994 prison world and Kai. Will Damon save her or not?427Please respect copyright.PENANAsRxbatWzCL
It’s never enough to say I’m sorry427Please respect copyright.PENANAD1eE54Znbl
It’s never enough to say I care427Please respect copyright.PENANA1JrpxmpDPU
But I’m caught between what you wanted from me427Please respect copyright.PENANAccqgW5yCQe
And knowing that if I give that to you427Please respect copyright.PENANAhKPil0AEd1
I might just disappear427Please respect copyright.PENANAkFWR2kKyeJ
Nobody wins when everyone’s losing
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It was a nebulous night, as Damon drove through Mystic Falls, on the way out of town. A few weeks ago, he and Enzo had been saved from the siren, Sybil, when they’d destroyed it. Just last week he’d gotten his humanity back on. Now he was on his way out of town for a break from Mystic Falls and everything that came with it.427Please respect copyright.PENANAPOyxxzX5Ty
Suddenly, on a road, close to the edge of town, he stopped the car, seeing someone on the road. Deciding to see who it was and if he could help, he got out and walked towards the shoulder of the road.427Please respect copyright.PENANA05mVa4gZGN
Once there, he immediately knew who it was. She wasn’t Elena, but he’d know her anywhere.427Please respect copyright.PENANAuSDCUSgdEQ
“Katherine?”427Please respect copyright.PENANAJc2ca3ER3I
He knelt by her to assess her condition and wounds with his eyes. When he did and saw the arrow in her lower stomach and the ascendant not far from her, he knew where she’d come from.427Please respect copyright.PENANAM4DqLo7YID
“I’m so sorry. You didn’t deserve this,” he said, knowing she’d just escaped Kai and it was partly his fault. He was the one that killed Kai to save Bonnie, and Stefan was the one that had killed her. Damon had just watched instead of trying to keep her alive, because he’d loved Elena. He couldn’t deny that there was still connection between them, though. She’d taught him everything he knew.
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*As I Lay Dying*
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It’s like one step forward and two steps back427Please respect copyright.PENANAdNg1Q0mrPE
No matter what I do you’re always mad427Please respect copyright.PENANAnZGiRFWp9u
And I, I can’t change your mind427Please respect copyright.PENANATzeXMlDGxL
I know it’s like trying to turn around on a one way street427Please respect copyright.PENANArIoGEK09r6
I can’t give you what you want427Please respect copyright.PENANAanAMH98dj6
And it’s killing me427Please respect copyright.PENANApYxVNjF3x2
And I, I’m starting to see427Please respect copyright.PENANAAWjcq5wiIL
Maybe we’re not meant to be427Please respect copyright.PENANA7OkcK5hh0y
It’s never enough to say I love you
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It was a dismal night in the Mystic Falls woods in 1864, as human Damon stood in front of her, her standing against a tree.427Please respect copyright.PENANARRNAajDQYy
“Why must you run from me?”427Please respect copyright.PENANAB9CwPakx0T
“Because I know that you will chase,” she answered with a smile.427Please respect copyright.PENANA3iXBjltagI
“Then let me chase you forever,” he replied.427Please respect copyright.PENANAqCkvntTf03
She used a fingernail to make a cut by her collarbone.427Please respect copyright.PENANA82DJCciTHB
“I’m not going to feed you, Damon. If you want it, take it. Choose.”427Please respect copyright.PENANAQs7xOnxsIx
“I choose you, Katherine,” he said, before he began to drink from the cut. That was the first lesson she taught him; take what you want without consequences.
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*500 Years of Solitude*
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No it’s never enough to say I try427Please respect copyright.PENANAb4UKzMKphl
It’s hard to believe427Please respect copyright.PENANA6oA6mNOrGs
That there’s no way out for you and me427Please respect copyright.PENANAVEGZxsIlAm
And it seems to be the story of our lives427Please respect copyright.PENANAIZHWZ46vyV
Nobody wins when everyone’s losing427Please respect copyright.PENANAIdRXqE82bm
There’s still time to turn this around427Please respect copyright.PENANALTUznN0WJ8
You could be building this up instead of tearing it down427Please respect copyright.PENANAZSFCt8YwtK
But I keep thinking427Please respect copyright.PENANA3ULkHyw9Fy
Maybe it’s too late
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As Katherine lay in bed, resting, stuck in the memory of her parents slaughtered, Damon appeared in her memory, ready to torment her about it.427Please respect copyright.PENANAhJW3SlO4Mg
“You know, your family’s death was all your fault,” he told her.427Please respect copyright.PENANAsGj5HLW12O
“Get. Out. Of. My. Head,” she said angrily, mad at him for being inside her head and trying to torment her.427Please respect copyright.PENANAiiTjV4Ihqj
He didn’t heed, but instead, went on to comment about the style that Klaus used, saying that he admired how he’d put the sword through her father and made him hang on the wall.427Please respect copyright.PENANAl2TjorLOTl
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*The Return*
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Katherine stood in front of him in the living room.427Please respect copyright.PENANAVXimYrhIvA
“Kiss me or kill me. Which will it be, Damon? We both know you’re only capable of one.”427Please respect copyright.PENANAMlOoXgPctn
He pinned her to the floor with a hand around her throat. He thought about the latter, but then a moment later, he let go of her and kissed her.427Please respect copyright.PENANAYaVG04EOQo
She kissed back with a smile and they blurred towards a wall, her against it, and they continued kissing.427Please respect copyright.PENANAdwHrkVFrQw
He pulled away five minutes later.427Please respect copyright.PENANA4CXzeypmSZ
“Wait. Time out.”427Please respect copyright.PENANAbjzlZdjYGG
She pushed him away and stepped back, waiting for him to continue.427Please respect copyright.PENANAnZpNs736dR
“I have a question. Answer it and it’s back to rockets and red glare. Answer it right and I’ll forget the last 145 years I spent missing you. I’ll forget everything and we can start over. That’s the beauty of eternity. See, we have time. I need the truth just this once.”427Please respect copyright.PENANAfhZmXXuUQY
She stood in front of him.427Please respect copyright.PENANA3LNg85AjK0
“Stop. I already know the question and its answer.”427Please respect copyright.PENANASqRQkv2RHE
He rested gentle hands on either side of her face.427Please respect copyright.PENANAvD1tSwHNhv
“The truth is…I’ve never loved you.”427Please respect copyright.PENANAnu9d6JJcn1
She took his hands and put them down, before walking off.427Please respect copyright.PENANAwaWOuju5zF
As she walked off, everything she said sunk in and he grabbed a shot glass, chucking it at the fireplace. As a result, it shattered into a million pieces, just as he felt like right now.
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*Present*
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It’s like one step forward and two steps back427Please respect copyright.PENANAxzLecchXbw
No matter what I do you’re always mad427Please respect copyright.PENANAf2x5BNKgWr
And I, baby, I’m starting to see427Please respect copyright.PENANAzHt4WsrFcX
Maybe we’re not meant to be
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As he scanned her, he saw a dagger in her thigh and her lower stomach and side were bleeding. To top it off, there was blood on either side of her head and she was pale from blood loss.427Please respect copyright.PENANAEiFrpmRygV
After another moment of looking her over, he pulled the arrow out and gently picked her up in his arms, taking her to his car.427Please respect copyright.PENANAcXXiLs8F4a
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As he drove out of town to the nearest town and hospital, he hoped that she’d make it. All he could do was hope. He’d hated her for so long and now he cared for her. He didn’t hate her anymore. He just wanted her to live. His hatred had died when she had died. Besides, no one deserved to be treated the way Kai liked to treat others.427Please respect copyright.PENANAxLYB85g1IJ
He looked over at her.427Please respect copyright.PENANAqngyhcVtyn
“Katherine, can you hear me? I need you to open your eyes. I know I was an ass before you died and I’m sorry for that.”427Please respect copyright.PENANA8pPkUHJiyh
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When he got parked in the hospital parking lot and opened her side of the car, she began to wake up and he went to her side. He could see that though she was awake, she was fighting as to not go under again.427Please respect copyright.PENANAZLguMx2Rkz
“Hey. You’re finally awake.” He gently picked her up in his arms and walked to the hospital building. “Stay with me. You’re going to be okay. Just stay with me.”427Please respect copyright.PENANALNo2P8zlNV
She was barely awake, as he entered and got some help for her.427Please respect copyright.PENANAtCtZ75W0Mh
A few minutes later, she was rushed down the hallway with a breathing mask on her.427Please respect copyright.PENANAHgD3k6VT8j
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A few hours later, he entered her hospital room after she’d survived the surgery, and sat on her bedside, his hands in hers.427Please respect copyright.PENANARrhZNA9HEp
“You’re lucky. You know that? You’ve been through hell and back and survived.”427Please respect copyright.PENANABkHhIOBDOw
He gave a smile, though she wasn’t awake yet.427Please respect copyright.PENANA5moZg8EHUG
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An hour later, she woke up and he gave a smile, which she returned.427Please respect copyright.PENANADxqHx2oZvo
“Thanks,” she said.427Please respect copyright.PENANAZlvQTadC3i
“Well, you didn’t deserve that and I don’t hate you anymore,” he replied.427Please respect copyright.PENANAXmAZxaKHFA
“Well, thanks for the save anyway.” She smiled. “If it’s any consolation, thinking about you kept me going.”427Please respect copyright.PENANAuZpamkAXy1
She slowly sat up in bed and gave him a kiss, which he lustfully returned. After her death and near death experience, he realized that he loved her.427Please respect copyright.PENANAG3BfFdPZ79
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A month later, they were a couple again.