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?523Please respect copyright.PENANA2giZEPGF4k
It’s never enough to say I’m sorry523Please respect copyright.PENANAd4TS9CPzIN
It’s never enough to say I care523Please respect copyright.PENANAy0KLneQE3o
But I’m caught between what you wanted from me523Please respect copyright.PENANAIB7wf2TSbt
And knowing that if I give that to you523Please respect copyright.PENANAxHFu67hWWj
I might just disappear523Please respect copyright.PENANAvD1biywp2x
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.523Please respect copyright.PENANAc8Ydqz8DJ6
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.523Please respect copyright.PENANAVHo1hlJGd9
Once there, he immediately knew who it was. She wasn’t Elena, but he’d know her anywhere.523Please respect copyright.PENANA5bypVq6WRe
“Katherine?”523Please respect copyright.PENANAIecC1O5TgZ
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.523Please respect copyright.PENANAkJ9aHQNnQm
“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 back523Please respect copyright.PENANAcZ7THm5fFJ
No matter what I do you’re always mad523Please respect copyright.PENANAtY67nK6lnb
And I, I can’t change your mind523Please respect copyright.PENANACZQRYtrQay
I know it’s like trying to turn around on a one way street523Please respect copyright.PENANAPOgvleu1YB
I can’t give you what you want523Please respect copyright.PENANAxguwTYlgaf
And it’s killing me523Please respect copyright.PENANAJilTQYDjaS
And I, I’m starting to see523Please respect copyright.PENANAusuStkEXIo
Maybe we’re not meant to be523Please respect copyright.PENANAQQS6h5e1Lw
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.523Please respect copyright.PENANA209LjMABnR
“Why must you run from me?”523Please respect copyright.PENANAu5D3Js6uFg
“Because I know that you will chase,” she answered with a smile.523Please respect copyright.PENANA3OFcxoJ587
“Then let me chase you forever,” he replied.523Please respect copyright.PENANAch35RqTcpv
She used a fingernail to make a cut by her collarbone.523Please respect copyright.PENANAb4XevfgRAl
“I’m not going to feed you, Damon. If you want it, take it. Choose.”523Please respect copyright.PENANAbexYtTQEpo
“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 try523Please respect copyright.PENANAh4iwongTPy
It’s hard to believe523Please respect copyright.PENANAqZqHyph8Zt
That there’s no way out for you and me523Please respect copyright.PENANAHr4YjTWkoQ
And it seems to be the story of our lives523Please respect copyright.PENANAyMWS8xwxvu
Nobody wins when everyone’s losing523Please respect copyright.PENANA3M4g24WAxE
There’s still time to turn this around523Please respect copyright.PENANAzhGoGMH7mi
You could be building this up instead of tearing it down523Please respect copyright.PENANA4QhDDmLBFs
But I keep thinking523Please respect copyright.PENANAaHW3GDYtrI
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.523Please respect copyright.PENANAHtN22am5Mu
“You know, your family’s death was all your fault,” he told her.523Please respect copyright.PENANAjn92ci8rZY
“Get. Out. Of. My. Head,” she said angrily, mad at him for being inside her head and trying to torment her.523Please respect copyright.PENANA4NM1Vp8oAD
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.523Please respect copyright.PENANAM8hgwoULP6
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*The Return*
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Katherine stood in front of him in the living room.523Please respect copyright.PENANAwGryLPaICT
“Kiss me or kill me. Which will it be, Damon? We both know you’re only capable of one.”523Please respect copyright.PENANA1dm5BLIt9s
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.523Please respect copyright.PENANA5yzVZhsFsP
She kissed back with a smile and they blurred towards a wall, her against it, and they continued kissing.523Please respect copyright.PENANA73GH7O3ZXb
He pulled away five minutes later.523Please respect copyright.PENANAziq09s7cN8
“Wait. Time out.”523Please respect copyright.PENANAkcMvVyTxw8
She pushed him away and stepped back, waiting for him to continue.523Please respect copyright.PENANAQgAohSaD85
“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.”523Please respect copyright.PENANAWlATCQA4S4
She stood in front of him.523Please respect copyright.PENANA5BoBaVoere
“Stop. I already know the question and its answer.”523Please respect copyright.PENANA5JrfJWxNEd
He rested gentle hands on either side of her face.523Please respect copyright.PENANAMyT86SXC6H
“The truth is…I’ve never loved you.”523Please respect copyright.PENANAohWWAmFLxF
She took his hands and put them down, before walking off.523Please respect copyright.PENANAXuwklZ0kSl
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 back523Please respect copyright.PENANA1W6xX9rNS4
No matter what I do you’re always mad523Please respect copyright.PENANAY9bKjmDE4W
And I, baby, I’m starting to see523Please respect copyright.PENANAKQas0vXo3P
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.523Please respect copyright.PENANAGGzRqeUiJ4
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.523Please respect copyright.PENANARjB54Ov7mg
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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.523Please respect copyright.PENANAbdbMF3vrav
He looked over at her.523Please respect copyright.PENANApNLIM9BLQg
“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.”523Please respect copyright.PENANACE195kaeiJ
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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.523Please respect copyright.PENANAYNjoLcdBU6
“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.”523Please respect copyright.PENANAGCGjlBOfhM
She was barely awake, as he entered and got some help for her.523Please respect copyright.PENANAZGTuUW7aca
A few minutes later, she was rushed down the hallway with a breathing mask on her.523Please respect copyright.PENANAwZZT2JZjN9
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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.523Please respect copyright.PENANA3EW2nKjRLn
“You’re lucky. You know that? You’ve been through hell and back and survived.”523Please respect copyright.PENANAd3refh45aX
He gave a smile, though she wasn’t awake yet.523Please respect copyright.PENANAYauAIvbZWk
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An hour later, she woke up and he gave a smile, which she returned.523Please respect copyright.PENANAmZVPToLiYU
“Thanks,” she said.523Please respect copyright.PENANAlavHGXoNyf
“Well, you didn’t deserve that and I don’t hate you anymore,” he replied.523Please respect copyright.PENANA8NMn5igp2A
“Well, thanks for the save anyway.” She smiled. “If it’s any consolation, thinking about you kept me going.”523Please respect copyright.PENANAspCxuFC5AP
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.523Please respect copyright.PENANAcK8su4TKup
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A month later, they were a couple again.