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?416Please respect copyright.PENANAxxpsPieeZE
It’s never enough to say I’m sorry416Please respect copyright.PENANAfVDxI2tc8K
It’s never enough to say I care416Please respect copyright.PENANARFhOCigS37
But I’m caught between what you wanted from me416Please respect copyright.PENANAl15gKyCxPX
And knowing that if I give that to you416Please respect copyright.PENANAganFta0U1b
I might just disappear416Please respect copyright.PENANAwXaRqvbGf4
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.416Please respect copyright.PENANAmihP8Bv9Ot
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.416Please respect copyright.PENANAwuPiQOyrty
Once there, he immediately knew who it was. She wasn’t Elena, but he’d know her anywhere.416Please respect copyright.PENANAKz5H4lyBMa
“Katherine?”416Please respect copyright.PENANA9qqj5aanNa
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.416Please respect copyright.PENANAYy69aRZwaF
“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 back416Please respect copyright.PENANA7meIvB0tgh
No matter what I do you’re always mad416Please respect copyright.PENANAs2pA9ip2WW
And I, I can’t change your mind416Please respect copyright.PENANApU1W8wfaxG
I know it’s like trying to turn around on a one way street416Please respect copyright.PENANAz9ZcBtSa85
I can’t give you what you want416Please respect copyright.PENANATcJd5DZ4ho
And it’s killing me416Please respect copyright.PENANAmcMSmWl59c
And I, I’m starting to see416Please respect copyright.PENANABmajuXLrn4
Maybe we’re not meant to be416Please respect copyright.PENANAGjK8ZyItiJ
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.416Please respect copyright.PENANAJy1bHeirmD
“Why must you run from me?”416Please respect copyright.PENANA4pC3dYMtkb
“Because I know that you will chase,” she answered with a smile.416Please respect copyright.PENANAFY6VYK31kA
“Then let me chase you forever,” he replied.416Please respect copyright.PENANAg8rmRo3bFA
She used a fingernail to make a cut by her collarbone.416Please respect copyright.PENANAlOQ7NdMFL1
“I’m not going to feed you, Damon. If you want it, take it. Choose.”416Please respect copyright.PENANAeUQMUAucKx
“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 try416Please respect copyright.PENANA1bGTN5clgm
It’s hard to believe416Please respect copyright.PENANAznBveCWgMt
That there’s no way out for you and me416Please respect copyright.PENANAWRvRu8uykW
And it seems to be the story of our lives416Please respect copyright.PENANA40pmvancVZ
Nobody wins when everyone’s losing416Please respect copyright.PENANATEylqINohO
There’s still time to turn this around416Please respect copyright.PENANAiZt3d5FFqb
You could be building this up instead of tearing it down416Please respect copyright.PENANA9JxDH0LLHs
But I keep thinking416Please respect copyright.PENANA3c3E20Z5aq
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.416Please respect copyright.PENANAWZbkkUrCTx
“You know, your family’s death was all your fault,” he told her.416Please respect copyright.PENANAAefDQVcmhJ
“Get. Out. Of. My. Head,” she said angrily, mad at him for being inside her head and trying to torment her.416Please respect copyright.PENANAO5O0hYhcle
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.416Please respect copyright.PENANATZWiYC9vjq
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*The Return*
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Katherine stood in front of him in the living room.416Please respect copyright.PENANAidYRyM1l9Z
“Kiss me or kill me. Which will it be, Damon? We both know you’re only capable of one.”416Please respect copyright.PENANAt7R9ffOCsE
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.416Please respect copyright.PENANAMwmzwxrotI
She kissed back with a smile and they blurred towards a wall, her against it, and they continued kissing.416Please respect copyright.PENANAmy9J0CwT4X
He pulled away five minutes later.416Please respect copyright.PENANAupg4w71Ei2
“Wait. Time out.”416Please respect copyright.PENANACGFSO00FSu
She pushed him away and stepped back, waiting for him to continue.416Please respect copyright.PENANASwizO63lUS
“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.”416Please respect copyright.PENANACiXRT6TRHv
She stood in front of him.416Please respect copyright.PENANAl2FaQFXZEM
“Stop. I already know the question and its answer.”416Please respect copyright.PENANANm6Jea7PcA
He rested gentle hands on either side of her face.416Please respect copyright.PENANAy5Jx4KiH6H
“The truth is…I’ve never loved you.”416Please respect copyright.PENANAAEjIeJc40O
She took his hands and put them down, before walking off.416Please respect copyright.PENANAxlQx0sSnmD
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 back416Please respect copyright.PENANAZZwpkzlJL2
No matter what I do you’re always mad416Please respect copyright.PENANAA4nnCOLjBG
And I, baby, I’m starting to see416Please respect copyright.PENANAyLoO90P1pH
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.416Please respect copyright.PENANArCLUOuwi6v
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.416Please respect copyright.PENANAEe7tJBiXdg
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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.416Please respect copyright.PENANA8rKTGdk5i4
He looked over at her.416Please respect copyright.PENANAKBTtvPOJFZ
“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.”416Please respect copyright.PENANA2es3lwnAeo
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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.416Please respect copyright.PENANAgS3VK7ywtD
“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.”416Please respect copyright.PENANACYqjkkHGnK
She was barely awake, as he entered and got some help for her.416Please respect copyright.PENANA5tNtxt46UY
A few minutes later, she was rushed down the hallway with a breathing mask on her.416Please respect copyright.PENANAQufLAJgCf8
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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.416Please respect copyright.PENANAbrN2YsQze2
“You’re lucky. You know that? You’ve been through hell and back and survived.”416Please respect copyright.PENANAN9auwiSCDH
He gave a smile, though she wasn’t awake yet.416Please respect copyright.PENANAJ9H3sdGPDb
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An hour later, she woke up and he gave a smile, which she returned.416Please respect copyright.PENANAkcpHo3sPIy
“Thanks,” she said.416Please respect copyright.PENANAqwicb7L22T
“Well, you didn’t deserve that and I don’t hate you anymore,” he replied.416Please respect copyright.PENANA8v3UKhOdVU
“Well, thanks for the save anyway.” She smiled. “If it’s any consolation, thinking about you kept me going.”416Please respect copyright.PENANAYEkdBdRq9M
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.416Please respect copyright.PENANA3QSLoRJWCd
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A month later, they were a couple again.