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?428Please respect copyright.PENANANl5SAEL6xe
It’s never enough to say I’m sorry428Please respect copyright.PENANAkZGcb6TTRD
It’s never enough to say I care428Please respect copyright.PENANARJerI9ieGy
But I’m caught between what you wanted from me428Please respect copyright.PENANAX87qecjmNu
And knowing that if I give that to you428Please respect copyright.PENANAIkkSbDI7De
I might just disappear428Please respect copyright.PENANABtiZAGgDmc
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.428Please respect copyright.PENANAYif2rNiAAB
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.428Please respect copyright.PENANACDVgWtlao9
Once there, he immediately knew who it was. She wasn’t Elena, but he’d know her anywhere.428Please respect copyright.PENANA137CYZFGGW
“Katherine?”428Please respect copyright.PENANAgF6LRawTDc
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.428Please respect copyright.PENANA9q7kFglTKL
“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 back428Please respect copyright.PENANALAldYidq0L
No matter what I do you’re always mad428Please respect copyright.PENANA17JLtz01m2
And I, I can’t change your mind428Please respect copyright.PENANA2dasncIVN8
I know it’s like trying to turn around on a one way street428Please respect copyright.PENANAsK6P72QDSM
I can’t give you what you want428Please respect copyright.PENANACjffdbN9ZZ
And it’s killing me428Please respect copyright.PENANADBrVwWQvCt
And I, I’m starting to see428Please respect copyright.PENANAIHlxUost1r
Maybe we’re not meant to be428Please respect copyright.PENANAw7oIv5LLfl
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.428Please respect copyright.PENANAWdcgYJbSCR
“Why must you run from me?”428Please respect copyright.PENANAhOlK0UwttO
“Because I know that you will chase,” she answered with a smile.428Please respect copyright.PENANA3q7BssJ2Xc
“Then let me chase you forever,” he replied.428Please respect copyright.PENANAt9DBr453kY
She used a fingernail to make a cut by her collarbone.428Please respect copyright.PENANACJREtCoyTd
“I’m not going to feed you, Damon. If you want it, take it. Choose.”428Please respect copyright.PENANACVfvRv1uK5
“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 try428Please respect copyright.PENANAfI4rsDA1hJ
It’s hard to believe428Please respect copyright.PENANAAVuy7pXysH
That there’s no way out for you and me428Please respect copyright.PENANAvUJNR4ojFK
And it seems to be the story of our lives428Please respect copyright.PENANAnOANrKB4IJ
Nobody wins when everyone’s losing428Please respect copyright.PENANA36dmzCU0iE
There’s still time to turn this around428Please respect copyright.PENANAx9igs4ZOcN
You could be building this up instead of tearing it down428Please respect copyright.PENANAG4wYAOXtq7
But I keep thinking428Please respect copyright.PENANAFPNbNdtxze
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.428Please respect copyright.PENANAkritQg9X7z
“You know, your family’s death was all your fault,” he told her.428Please respect copyright.PENANAvkSThBGyf9
“Get. Out. Of. My. Head,” she said angrily, mad at him for being inside her head and trying to torment her.428Please respect copyright.PENANASMiKVLUciS
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.428Please respect copyright.PENANA0305ZM8duv
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*The Return*
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Katherine stood in front of him in the living room.428Please respect copyright.PENANA563haSWaex
“Kiss me or kill me. Which will it be, Damon? We both know you’re only capable of one.”428Please respect copyright.PENANA1oIj2nkRRs
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.428Please respect copyright.PENANAefZXhNtTTK
She kissed back with a smile and they blurred towards a wall, her against it, and they continued kissing.428Please respect copyright.PENANAEhVz1oQPst
He pulled away five minutes later.428Please respect copyright.PENANA2FLLLBFgAI
“Wait. Time out.”428Please respect copyright.PENANALvkW0RxumR
She pushed him away and stepped back, waiting for him to continue.428Please respect copyright.PENANA1BtNBhxoqb
“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.”428Please respect copyright.PENANAAB7Ww2PABE
She stood in front of him.428Please respect copyright.PENANAOT4NHjHgRY
“Stop. I already know the question and its answer.”428Please respect copyright.PENANANO3QMAIfPO
He rested gentle hands on either side of her face.428Please respect copyright.PENANAS7SsKB1UQN
“The truth is…I’ve never loved you.”428Please respect copyright.PENANA9Nk8eC7Ll1
She took his hands and put them down, before walking off.428Please respect copyright.PENANAOYn6jReLRg
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 back428Please respect copyright.PENANAm5CemDEtIA
No matter what I do you’re always mad428Please respect copyright.PENANApmMtUXJykV
And I, baby, I’m starting to see428Please respect copyright.PENANAXFqUlPcTqG
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.428Please respect copyright.PENANAu3NqN81p4y
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.428Please respect copyright.PENANA3dbo2SjB8b
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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.428Please respect copyright.PENANApSbUyP6Vvd
He looked over at her.428Please respect copyright.PENANAGhaa3Rrwdm
“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.”428Please respect copyright.PENANAAnMXJWSLnp
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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.428Please respect copyright.PENANAc0yNxBx4fZ
“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.”428Please respect copyright.PENANA89TxwPMXNL
She was barely awake, as he entered and got some help for her.428Please respect copyright.PENANAKMS6eiphid
A few minutes later, she was rushed down the hallway with a breathing mask on her.428Please respect copyright.PENANAFV12jQEaIE
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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.428Please respect copyright.PENANAvSh7c0GWNi
“You’re lucky. You know that? You’ve been through hell and back and survived.”428Please respect copyright.PENANA1DLr0UsoOt
He gave a smile, though she wasn’t awake yet.428Please respect copyright.PENANA3rsdK0qUgu
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An hour later, she woke up and he gave a smile, which she returned.428Please respect copyright.PENANAdCIj22qg5N
“Thanks,” she said.428Please respect copyright.PENANA2phfxTpm3x
“Well, you didn’t deserve that and I don’t hate you anymore,” he replied.428Please respect copyright.PENANAzblSQ1DMz0
“Well, thanks for the save anyway.” She smiled. “If it’s any consolation, thinking about you kept me going.”428Please respect copyright.PENANApFifP51JZ4
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.428Please respect copyright.PENANAMz9P1P5jC4
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A month later, they were a couple again.