(3) Just Magic (D. Salvatore)

Chapter Five

Damon enters his bedroom with Cassandra. Elena is sat on the floor, going through all the newspaper cuttings. Cassandra doesn't need this right now. Not Elena breaching boundaries. Not Elena going through her stuff. Not Elena. Not now. Not after the night that she's had.

"What are you doing here?" Cassandra asks her sister as she undoes the belt of her coat. Elena looks up at her.

"Why didn't you tell me? Why did you keep it a secret?" Elena counters. Cassandra cocks her head and looks down at all the paper cuttings.

"Can we not do this right now? I'm having a really bad night" Cassandra admits.

"Then when?" Elena asks. "Because you avoid me every minute of every day"

"Elena" Damon warns. Cassandra pinches the bridge of her nose, Damon's eyes on her. He can see how upset she is. And he knows it's about more than just Andie. It's about everything.

"So when am I supposed to talk to you, Cas?" Elena asks her sister. "When are we supposed to talk about this? Tell me what you know" Elena demands.

"I know you need to get back to your party, Elena" Cassandra offers through clenched teeth, her powers fritzing and sparking in her hands. She's emotional and about to lash out.

"You need to leave" Damon adds and steps between the two of them.

"Why didn't you tell me that you've been tracking Klaus' victims?" Elena asks them.

"Because they're not Klaus's victims, Elena, they're Stefan's" Damon answers. Elena goes silent.

"What?" She whispers.

"He's left a trail of body parts up and down the eastern seaboard" Damon informs her as he folds his arms over his chest.

"No. You're wrong" Elena argues, shaking her head.

"I've seen it happen before. He's flipped the switch. Full-blown ripper"

"Stop it, Damon"

"No, you stop, Elena! Stop looking for him. Stop waiting for him to come home. Just stop! Stefan is gone and he's not coming back. Not in your lifetime" Elena stares at him before she leaves in tears. Damon sits on the edge of the bed and closes his eyes. Cassandra moves towards him, shrugging out of her coat and setting it over the back of her dressing table chair. She sits next to him as he runs his fingers through his hair.

"Do you really believe that?" She asks, he nods.

"Yep," He answers.

"Going to stop looking?" She counters, he glances at her and lets out a breath.

"I don't know" He admits, she curls into his side and he wraps an arm around her shoulders. "Maybe I should" He offers. "Just...just brought you back from the dead, not about to risk your life again" He strokes her cheek. "I can't go through that again" He kisses her head and closes his eyes.

......

Cassandra lets out a breath and manifests a ball of mist between her hands, she lets it out softly over a spot on the dresser, when the mist disappears, a teapot along with a mug has appeared on the dresser. Cassandra picks up the teapot and pours out some into the mug. It's the only thing that's been helping her sleep since she came back. Damon touches the small of her back as he passes her, heading towards the bathroom to change for bed.

"Do you think he would have?" She asks, he pauses in the doorway and taps his fingers on the doorframe. He doesn't need her to elaborate on what she's asking of him. He knows what she means.

"I don't know" He answers and shrugs. He looks at her. "You're the mind reader"

"I couldn't read his mind" She admits. "It's like Mason all over again...if Katherine got her hands on those bracelets, then maybe Klaus has something too. Like that stone. I think he has a lot of tricks we haven't seen yet" He nods in agreement.

"Drink your tea and let's go to bed" He offers.

"Hmm so domesticated" She comments as she picks up her mug and moves to the bed.

"Hey, you bailed on a party to do research" He reminds her, she nods a little and climbs onto the bed. Her eyes saddening. That part of her life is over now. She listens to Damon as he moves around the bathroom. Leaving in a pair of boxers before moving to their bed. She pulls her knees up to her chest and rests her mug between her knees, letting it warm her.

"I wonder if she had any family" She whispers sadly as Damon climbs into bed to join her. "A husband? Children?"

"Okay, you need to stop" Damon offers. "This is not your fault. And you beating yourself up over it....it's not going to help and it is not going to make you feel better. Okay?" She nods a little.

...............

Cassandra rolls her hand around through the morning sunlight shining in through the bedroom window. Cassandra is still laying in bed, awake but not wanting to get up. Not in the mood to get up. She has no reason to. No work. No school. Nothing to do. Her eyes are focused on her television as it plays the news. Damon is up though and removing all the notes, maps, and newspaper cuttings from his closet.

"Whether suicide or a tragic accident, WPKW News has lost one of its shining stars. Field reporter and weekend anchor Andie Star was discovered..." Elena appears in the doorway.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Elena asks Cassandra.

"Hmmm, I told you I had a bad night" She reminds Elena. "Plus you know...I hate you" Elena's eyes sadden.

"Cas..."

"She's tried, you should go" Damon scolds Elena.

"Did you open your gifts?" Elena asks.

"No" Cassandra answers.

"Jeremy...his gift's in the bag, even if you don't want mine....he's not done anything wrong," Cassandra says nothing back, just watches the tribute on the television. Elena sighs a little and looks at Damon. "He called me" Elena admits, Damon stands from the pile of cuttings.

"What?" He asks.

"Stefan called me last night" Elena answers.

"Well, what'd he say?"

"He didn't say anything, but it was him. I asked Sheriff Forbes if she would trace the call's origin. It came from Tennessee"

"Where he's binge drinking on the country folk. We went through this, Elena. Stefan's gone. I don't mean geographically" He throws the documents into the unlit fireplace.

"If he was gone, he wouldn't have called" Elena argues and then storms out of the room. Damon picks up a box of matches from the top of the fireplace but it lights automatically with a puff of red smoke. He looks across at Cassandra who is still watching the television. He shakes his head and sets the box back down.

"Are we going to talk about what's going on with your powers?" He asks, she frowns at him. "All the new stuff? The tea? The champagne? The fire...?" He motions at the fireplace. "Since when could you do stuff like that?" She sits up a little and lets out a breath.

"Ally told me my powers were only limited by my experience and my imagination," She tells him. "She said I could do anything I wanted with them..." She shrugs a little. "Give me something," She tells him. "Anything....and I'll show you" He cocks his head, thinking. "Anything you want..." She adds. "I can use my powers to make it"

"Said like that isn't a big deal" He counters, she gives him a look. "Fine...an Armani cashmere sweater, in black..." He offers as he climbs onto the bed to sit with her.

"Really?" She teases a little. He nods. She lets out a breath, closes her eyes and concentrates. A ball of mist forming between her hands. She manipulates her hands, pushing and pulling before the mist fades, and laying on the bed between them is an Armani black cashmere sweater. He picks it up and raises an eyebrow. It's perfect. He knows it is. He has one in his closet. It either a very good replica or this is more than just her making it. He doesn't know who to ask. Bonnie maybe. Ally definitely, but she's been radio silent since she left town. Cassandra turns and lays back down, going back to watching the television. He looks down at the sweater with a frown.