VD: Datherine

Save Me From Myself

Summary: Set in S8. What if Elena died beginning S8 in her coffin, so Damon had to try and deal? What if everyone thought she was dead, but Kat never died? Instead, she body jumped in S5. When she shows up after Elena died, will he protect her? When she finds out about Elijah's death, can he save her from herself? If so, what will ensue?

Warning: Temporary character death/suicide for anyone triggered by those.

It was a dismal night, as a very familiar someone stood in his living room. She couldn't be here. He'd watched her die human. He'd even put her in the tomb afterwards. Yet, seeing her and hearing her heart, he knew it was true. She was alive and human.

"You're dead," he stated, but it wasn't a threat. "How are you even here?"

"Well, actually, I was never really dead. My body was dead, but when Nadia taught me how to body jump, I knew how to body jump after my trip from Elena and back into my own body. When you all thought me to be dead, I was inside someone else. Not relevant of who. I just was waiting for the chance. I needed to wait for my perfect moment."

"What's your plan now, Katherine?" he wanted to know.

"Well, the version of me you know always had a plan. This new me just wants to be redeemed. At least try to move past what I've done. I tried the first time I came to you, but you were too attached to her. All of you. Maybe now that she's gone, I can succeed in showing how much I want to move on. Sure, I won't lie and say I'll miss her, but I'd never want you to lose her. Especially, the way you did. And I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I hurt you, as well as everyone else," she replied, as she approached him.

Damon, still hurt from the loss of Elena, looked at her. If she was playing a game, he wasn't going to play her game. If she was being truthful though, he wasn't ready to paly hero yet. Especially, towards her.

"You get a few points for trying to apologize, but you're gonna have to try harder. It's gonna take a lot more than apologies. You have to earn that trust. You've done too much damage," he told her, before heading for the threshold of the living room, ready to leave. He had to do some thinking, which was something he couldn't do around her.

Kat acted like she was put together like she always acted, but in his grief, she knew he didn't see it. She was still dealing herself. She absolutely needed him, but he wasn't quite ready. She knew that, as she watched him leave. And as he closed the door behind himself, it felt like it was like the last time she'd been human. The night he tried handing her over to Silas.

After a while, she entered Damon's bathroom, sitting against a wall. She was usually a strong person, but without knowing if Damon would help her or not, and after knowing that Elijah and Klaus were dead, she was more broken than ever before. A big part of her was ready to just end her own suffering. The temptation to do so was strong. Her only anchor to her hope and when she'd been a vampiress, her humanity, was gone. With the uncertainty from Damon, she had nothing left to live for. Even Enzo was dead. So, before she knew it, with no hope for much of anything, she grabbed a shard of glass and stabbed herself, before pulling it out. Because of her long dead mother's medical knowledge, she knew the quickest way to do this. Then, moments later, everything went black.

After leaving for about an hour to think about what to do, he returned to the smell of blood. It smelled a lot like there was a lot of it, since it was an overwhelming smell. That's when he began to grow concerned for human Katherine. He couldn't smell the scent of anything other than himself and blood, so he knew an enemy hadn't been here in the last hour.

"Katherine?" he called loud enough for her human ears, but he didn't hear her. That's when he assumed that she was in trouble. At that conclusion, he followed the scent trail, only to come upon a scene he never in a thousand years would have thought he'd see. A small mirror was broken, a shard of glass with blood by her. She was pale from blood loss, as she lay on her side. It was apparent to him that after all of the loss she'd received for so many years, she'd finally reached her breaking point. He just had never imagined that she'd try to kill herself in present times.

In a blur, he was knelt at her side, a towel in hand, hoping he could save her, despite the amount of blood that surrounded her left leg. He then gently got her on her back, before applying pressure with the towel to her open leg artery. He then used his heightened hearing, hoping he could save her life. He couldn't hear her breathing though, and he could barely see her pulse.

"Stay with me, Katherine," he told her, as he tied the towel around her artery, before giving her some air, trying to bring her back. "Breathe, Katherine. Come back to me. Open your eyes, Kitty Kat," he pleaded, using his old nickname for her. "I need you to breathe for me," he added.

About twenty minutes later, he heard her breathing, so he stopped. He then gently got her against him, her head against his shoulder, and rested a hand on her forehead.

"Come on. Open your eyes, Kat. I'll protect you. Just open your eyes," he called to her. He knew he needed her awake, not knowing how long she'd been nearly dead from the blood loss.

When she woke up she was sure had probably been a while later, she felt weak. She saw that Damon had her against him. She also realized that her wound had been tended to, but her vision was blurry.

"That a girl. Wake up for me," she heard him say, which made her assume he'd been trying to wake her up since a while ago.

"Damon?" she weakly questioned, surprised that he'd save her life.

"It's okay. I'm right here," he assured her, acting as if he wasn't mad or upset that she'd tried to kill herself. Or maybe she'd succeeded. She didn't remember ending up dead. Everything had been black until Damon had saved her life. "I'm gonna need you to stay awake. At least until your blood is restored."

Later that night, she was up and in the living room, feeling as if she'd been restored, her transfusion having been successful. She still felt guilty, but knew she couldn't do that again.

He sat by her on the couch, so she stopped looking at the fire in the fireplace.

"Why'd you do that?" he wanted to know, before she could say anything. "The Katherine I know will always pick survival."

"I lost everyone. I couldn't live. I was at my breaking point. And I assumed you'd never save or protect me. When you've lost hope and everyone you love, there's nothing you can do," she answered him. "Why'd you save me? You never would have five plus years ago."

"Actually, it was less saving you and more or less bringing you back. I'm sorry you lost everyone, but killing yourself isn't an option. I guess my views have changed since losing Elena. I didn't think I could watch you die, nor let you die," he replied and answered her. He then assured her, "I may not love you, but I'm not leaving. You've still got me."

She gave a smile, before reminding him, "Protecting me will be dangerous."

"Well, we're in this together, whether we like it or not," he replied, a hand on hers that rested on the couch. He then gave a smile, up for the challenge of protecting her.

Several months later, they fell back into love. He even protected her from both of their enemies as he promised. And so, they finally got their happy ending.