You are my Freedom

My Favorite Person

**The Cellar of the Farmhouse**

"He'll come for us, you know, he'll save us," Clara tells Stefan trying to be reassuring.

"Glad you have so much faith in my brother," Stefan says dryly,

"Look, Clara, I know you have this image of Damon from when he was human and I can tell you all of the atrocities he's committed but you clearly have a very big blind spot when it comes to him. the facts are we are tied up in a house with dozens of angry vampires, Damon doesn't stand a chance with those odds and he knows that. Even if some part of him does love you he is not going to risk certain death to save us."

Clara is quiet for a while before finally speaking, "You're wrong about so many things the first you're wrong that I have a blind spot."

Stefan scoffs at this

Clara takes a deep breath to control her temper,

"I believe that if you are unable to stand by someone when they are at their worst then you have no right to enjoy yourself with that someone when they're at their best and Damon at his best is my favorite person, and I think he is yours too. And that doesn't make me blind or naïve it means I know how to love, how to love all of someone and not just the convenient parts. He will find a way he won't leave us here. I know it."

Stefan was quiet after that, part of him agreed with her Damon at his best had been one of his favorite people for a long time he thought the world of his older brother but he had been taken in and let down by Damon so many times in the past that he just couldn't allow himself to get his hopes up, not again. But for Clara's sake, he hoped this one time Damon would surprise him.

**Mystic Falls High School**

Alaric is walking down the hallway when Damon appears. He stops in his tracks at seeing the man who very recently killed him.

Damon saunters up to him, "Well, don't you look...alive?"

"You can't hurt me," Alaric tells him,

Damon gets a sinister smile on his face, "Oh, I can hurt you, all right."

Elena catches up to Damon rolling her eyes that he is wasting time with theatrics.

"Mr. Saltzman. We need your help."

They go into Alaric's classroom to talk, Elena continues to try an appeal to Alaric, "Stefan.... and a woman named Clara (Elena was quick to include her this time, not wanting Damon in her face again) are being held in this house. Damon's a vampire. He can't get in. We need you. I would go, but..."

Damon decides to jump in and cut to the chase, "But your life is valuable... to my brother at least. Yours, on the other hand, is..."

Elena is really thinking she should have come to ask for Alaric's help by herself Damon is being his usual unhelpful self she's not sure why she thought now would be any different.

"Stefan told me about your ring." Elena lets Alaric know.

"What about it?" He responds somewhat testily,

"Let me recap...You tried to kill me. I defended myself. You died. Then according to my brother, your ring brought you back to life. Am I leaving anything out?" Damon asks.

"Yeah. The part where I try and kill you again. Only this time, I don't miss." Taunts Alaric.

"Mr. Saltzman. Please. It's Stefan."Elena pleads.

"I'm sorry, Elena. But it's not my problem."

"That's a shame... because the woman in charge of the crowd can help you find your wife," Damon says tempting the teacher turned hunter to accept tonight's adventure.

"You're lying."

Damon tilts his head, "Am I? Why don't you ask her for yourself?"

Alaric knows he'll always wonder what if and reluctantly agrees to help, "All right. I'll go."

**Miss Gibbons' Residence**

Alaric knocks on the door. Frederick answers it.

"Oh, good, someone's home. Uh, could I use your phone? My car broke down a few miles up the road. This was the first house I saw."

"Well, lucky you."

"Yeah. Lucky me. It's no trouble, is it?" Alaric asks starting to feel like the chick in the opening of a horror flick.

"Not in the slightest."

"Great. Whew. Hey, man, I really appreciate it. It's rough out there."

Frederick moved aside to let him in, "Billy, show our visitor where the phone is in the kitchen. And get me something to drink."

"Yeah. Sure thing. Hey, Miss Gibbons, this guy wants to use your phone."

"Oh, sure, honey. It's right there." She shows Alaric,

Alaric walks towards the phone, Billy comes at him with a stake but Alaric is too quick for him and grabs the stake and stabs him with it. Alaric turns on the faucet and starts the blender to create noise.

"What's happening?" Mrs. Gibbons says panicked,

"I'm really sorry." Alaric tells her, "But you're gonna need to invite a friend of mine inside."

Alaric opens the door and Damon is standing outside waiting.

"Oh, I'm sorry. He's not allowed in the house."

"I know that. But you've gotta make an exception." Alaric tells her gently.

"Get her out of the house. Now!" Damon demands.

Alaric hurries the kind older woman outside.

Damon grabs her and forces her to look into his eyes, "Miss Gibbons, tell me the truth. Are you married?" He asks/compels

"No."

"Parents, children, anyone else who lives on this property?"

"No. It's just me." She tells him.

"No? Good," Damon says and breaks her neck promptly entering the house,

"You were supposed to compel her!" Alaric whisper-shouts at Damon.

"It doesn't work that way..." Damon responds completely unbothered by what he's just done or that the new vampire hunter seems upset with him for it.

"She is human." he cries.

"And I'm not!" Damon throws back at him, "So, I don't care. Now, get out of here. And get rid of the body!"

Frederick still waiting for his drink tells another vampire to go see what is up. He enters the kitchen and turns off the sink and blender. He approaches the pantry. Damon opens the door and stakes him.

Alaric runs back to the car. He opens the door and sees Elena isn't there. He grabs his bag and leaves.

"Damn it, Elena!"

Elena runs past the door and goes down a staircase that leads to the cellar. She tries to open the door, but it is locked. She busts out one of the windowpanes, unlocks the door and opens it. A man is standing guard by a door at the end of the hallway. Elena gets her vervain syringe out and is ready to attack, but Damon gets to the man first. He sees Elena.

"Are you insane!" Damon asks shocked at her level of stupidity to come in here.

**Downstairs**

Stefan and Clara are still trapped in the cellar.

Stefan looks over the Clara,

He clears his throat, "Thank you... for trying to help mend me and Damon. I'm glad he got to be married to you, I am sorry I didn't get to know you back then ."

Clara shook her head, "Don't start saying your goodbyes already Stefan. He'll come, I'm sure of it."

Stefan wished he could have such unwavering faith in anyone the way Clara had in Damon. He was starting to feel that way about Elena and he desperately wanted to get back to her.

"I am sorry me making you hunt with me got us taken."

Stefan smiled sadly, "It's OK They just needed somebody to blame. Someone to punish. It's you who doesn't deserve to be here."

Clara gave Stefan a sympathetic smile at that, disappointed it took so much to finally start bonding them.

Elena and Damon enter the cellar. Shocking Stefan.

"Elena...You shouldn't be here..." He tells her.

"She was supposed to stay in the car," Damon tells him hoping to shame Elena some.

It was Damon! He came, Stefan was touched that his brother came through for him and Clara, granted he would've been happier if he had left Elena at home.

"There's vervain on the ropes." He tries to warn Damon but his brother has already rushed over to help Clara. Damon ignores his burning skin and tears Clara free of her restraints.

"Elena, pull that," Damon instructs Elena on how to let down Stefan as he is still busy fussing over his wife clutching her to him making sure she really is still here.

"Unh!" Stefan moans in pain sore from being strung up all night.

"All right, let's go," Damon tells them all.

"Wait," Stefan calls realizing he can't move too well with his injuries.

"What? Guys, come on. We have to get out of here."

Damon turns to Clara who is in better shape than Stefan.

"Can you get them (nodding to Stefan and Elena) to the car?"

Clara shakes her head hating that idea, "I don't want to leave you!"

Damon groans knowing it's the last thing he wants either but Stefan is in no condition to fight and he really needs to get both her and Elena to safety.

He rests his forehead against hers and strokes her earlobes calming himself down with how soft they are

"God I know baby, I don't want you away from me either but I won't be able to concentrate on staying alive if I'm worried about you and my brother... and the human."

Clara accepts this taking in a deep breath and kissing her husband firmly on the lips

"Alright, I'll get them to the car." She promises

"Good, all right Elena knows where it is, right?"

Elena nods, "Yeah."

"All right, go."

"What about you?" Elena asks,

"I'll distract. Go!"

**Upstairs**

Frederick realizes something is amiss, "Spread out. Now. You two, back of the house. Go. Check out both rooms. Cellar, now!"

**Woods**

Clara is carrying Stefan to the car and Elena is leading the way constantly looking back over her shoulder at Stefan worriedly.

"it's all right I've got him just focus ahead on where you're leading us." Clara tries to warn her but its too late as Elena trips on a rock giving herself a nasty cut.

"You okay?" Stefan asks concerned for his girlfriend.

Elena gets up and dusts herself off, "Yeah. Come on, keep going."

**Miss Gibbons' Residence**

Frederick sees another staked vampire in the dining room. Damon catches him by surprise. They fight. Damon gets Frederick on the floor and starts punching him. Furious he dared put his hands on his wife.

Two vampires come up from behind and pull Damon off. Frederick leaves. The vampires and Damon start fighting. One of them approaches Damon from behind. Damon doesn't see him, but Alaric shoots at the vampire with a dart.

Damon slightly shocked Alaric had his back after everything quickly shakes it off.

"I'm going after Frederick!" Damon announces,

**Woods**

Finally, the 3 battered misfits arrive at the car.

"Come on, it's right over here," Elena calls finally seeing something that looks familiar.

Clara puts Stefan in the car and Elena goes around to the driver's side but She sees the ignition has been removed.

"Uh, guys..." Elena starts to say but before Clara or Stefan can ask what the problem is Frederick busts the window on Stefan's side out and drags him out startling Clara who had just climbed in the back seat.

Frederick starts beating Stefan and stabs him with a branch.

"This is for the tomb."

Elena is screaming afraid for Stefan but in a flash, Clara has escaped the car and snapped Fredericks neck ending any further damage to Stefan.

"That's the first time I've done something like that, did I do it correctly?" She asks Elena.

"Yeah, he's down I think you did it right."

Elena now turns her attention back to "Stefan..."

Elena sits down next to Stefan after racing over to his crumpled form.

"It's alright," Clara tells her, "he'll be alright. now we just have to wait for Damon."

**Back at the house**

Alaric is reloading his dart gun. A vampire attacks him. They wrestle to the ground. Alaric stabs him with a vervain syringe.

Damon comes back into the hallway, "Frederick's gone."

Alaric nods, "Let's get out of here."

Damon and Alaric go to exit the house but stop as they see many more vampires approaching.

"How many of those vervain darts do you have left?" Damon asks.

"One." Alaric answers.

"Not gonna be enough."

"So, what you said to get me to do this, about my wife. It was a lie, wasn't it?" Alaric asks.

"Yep." Damon tells him.

Pearl steps forward, "Stop! What's going on here? What did you do?"

"Me?!" Damon asks affronted, "Your merry little band of vampires spent the day torturing my brother and WIFE!"

Pearl sighs, "Trust me. The parties responsible for this will be dealt with, This wasn't supposed to happen."

Damon narrows his eyes at her, "Well, it did. If I had a good side...Not a way to get on it."

Damon and Alaric are able to leave without another fight.

**In the Woods by the car**

Frederick is regaining his strength while Clara and Elena are busy tending to Stefan. He grabs another branch and walks towards them. Stefan notices and gets up and pins Frederick to a tree. He takes the branch from Frederick and repeatedly stabs him in the heart. Shocking Clara and disturbing Elena.

"Stefan. Stefan!" Elena tries to make Stefan stop. Stefan turns around, his face is still in its vampire form. Elena is frightened by him. Stefan stops. He looks horrified at what Elena has witnessed of him.

Clara isn't that concerned with what is brewing between them just thankful Stefan put a permanent stop to Frederick and anxiously awaiting Damon's return.

Finally, she sees him walking towards with the man who died in their parlor the other day, ignoring the last part she races to him and jumps into his arms causing him to groan a little from fresh injuries but he ignores any pain and grabs her face for a passionate kiss.

Stefan witnesses this and can't help but be a little jealous at how seemingly solid and uncomplicated their relationship is.

Damon breaks away from Clara and turns to Alaric, "That was fun. Oh, don't look at me like that. I know you hate me. Guess what? Everyone hates me, except for this one(gesturing to Clara) But you can't deny it. We were badass."

Alaric punches him still upset Damon used him by lying about his missing wife.

Later at the boarding house, the sun has risen and after passionately and enthusiastically reconnecting with Clara, Damon goes to check on Stefan.

Damon enters Stefan's room. He sees blood bags that are empty. Then he sees Stefan sitting on the floor, drinking from another bag.