[Episode 28 - Plan B]

If you say you have a plan for each alphabet, then your scheming is limited to 26 plots. But everyone in this world needs a plan B when all other hope is lost, or when all known people are lost.

It's Testing Tuesday and trouble rises faster than the Sun in Mystic Falls. No matter how much trouble our little scooby gang may be in, the one thing they don't forget is being close. Even if you need to pretend hating people you love.

Damon Salvatore plants kisses up her thighs, making most of the cold morning to hold her to him, warm and in the bubble. Kat moans and flips him about, sitting on top of his back as she runs her hands over the blood left behind "Too much?" she asks. In reply, he flips onto his back, not caring for his sheets, and kisses her neck "Too less"

Their hands grope about their naked skin as they twist and turn in the cozy envelope of the sheets. "What's, the ti-,me?" the elder Gilbert moans out and Damon stops, checking the clock he should have broken long ago "Too early"

He resumes kissing her neck and Kat feels the sting of his fangs in his neck "Did it hurt" he looks up and she shakes her head, caught in the moment. The Salvatore buries his fangs again into her olive skin, drinking from her.

"Damon" she moans, somehow whatever this man does, it's sexy as hell. Must be something in the water. "Hmm" he hums, sending those vibrations striking deep in her throat "Damon... I have-"

He wraps his arms around her back, rubbing circles on it with his thumbs as he looks to the girl who's lost for words as she takes in breathes "You have...?" he taunts.

Kat is no less, her legs wrap around the Salvatore's waist as she runs the soft heel of her feet and her toes over his back "I'm late fo-" he kisses her and she chuckles at his interruption. The only thing harder than making up, is waking up.

"Shower" she puts in and he stops with a twinkle in his eyes "Let's go" he rushes up and taking the leeway, Kat smirks as she puts on her robe "Nah, I'm Miss Mystic Falls, I've people to command"

"Really?" he comes to her, challenge clear in his voice. Without warning, he picks up her and throws the girl over his shoulder, who squeals and bites into his shoulder.

"That's why I like you" Damon smirks.

"Whatever, you know I like you too" she snuggles into his neck.

Back at the younger twin's - Stefan Salvatore kisses his girlfriend's neck "I promise you, we're gonna get through this"

She takes his face in her warm hands " I love you, Stefan"

"I love you too" he smiles as she kisses his chest.

One would think being a superbitch is tiresome. The you'd be mistaken, because every superbitch has a superplan. Katherine Pierce smirks at the blue-eyed Lockwood beneath her "You know I love you" she kisses him, groping onto his scruffed chiselled jaw.

He smiles, stuck in the web of her eyes and pretty smile "I love you too".

▹▹▹

Jenna, Carol Lockwood and Kat walk along the room as Carol gushes "Thanks for helping wrangle the volunteers"

"Of course, it's for a good cause" Kat smiles. Doing normal things really help her keep her sanity, or one of these days, she might as well be on a bed in the Mystic Falls mental ward.

"Always have been a sucker for the Masquerade Ball" Jenna supplies with a chuckle. They step aside to let Matt and Tyler tip-toe in with an antique table. They see the Lockwood woman and Kat - Hitlers of the House, and almost drop it.

"Wait, wait, wait, Tyler!" The table almost gets dropped on it's ancient legs but Kat throws her clipboard down to rush to the unbalanced side of the table.

"Thanks" they both huff out, giving each other blaming looks. The Gilbert in charge just chuckles "Careful boys, it's precious..." she winks and they catch it back on balance, stomping even more carefully.

Jenna and she, engrossed in talks, walk into the adjacent room only to walk into Stefan Salvatore. "Stefan hey!" Jenna greets but Kat just awkwardly waves. 

She's avoided him for one whole day, and her sister is no exception. Just giving and taking space, the Guardian tells herself.

"I'm cooking dinner tonight" the strawberry blonde says, only to have her niece cough twice "She and Alaric are cooking dinner tonight. You should come, might as well bring Dam-"

"You know," he forestalls, not really wanting to talk about Damon and Kat "Elena and I, we're kind of taking a - a pause..."

Kat rolls her eyes and Jenna, surprisingly smug, leans against one of the chairs "That's not what it sounded like this morning"

Kat makes a face. No one should go through hearing their aunt saying such stuff. Stefan tries to muster up his 'seriously-confused-vampire-look'. Maybe a 500-something vampire, they can fool, but sneaky aunts, uh-uh.

"Light sleeper" Jenna tuts "You what? I heard nothing" she goes off, leaving the supernaturals behind. "Um..."

"Kat-"

"I g-gotta, go. Bye" she runs off before he can react.

▹▹▹

"I'm sorry" the green-eyed Gilbert hears behind her and she turns around, only to see Mason Lockwood.

"For what? Snapping part or the ignoring part?" she glares, walking off into the House. "Look, I'm sorry but they had to die"

Ah, he still thinks the Salvatore brothers are dead. Real world will be shocking to this particular surfer.

Speak of the devil, Stefan comes in with a box and goes rigid when he sees him. "Hey Stefan...!"

"Mason" the vampire nods. They both look to the girl in between them who looks at the boxes in their hands "How about you both be gentlemen and put those boxes there" she shows them the platform beside.

"Wasn't expecting you here. Or anywhere...." Mason grits out. 

"Yeah, he had this little accident. But he's fine now" Kat takes the Salvatore's arm, yanking him out of there.

"What did you do to Sheriff Forbes?"

"Oh, I won't let anything happen to her" Kat assures with a serious face, warning him to not go any further with the topic.

"But" Stefan puts in "-from now on, you'll have to do your own dirty work"

"Not a problem"

Mason starts to walk away but accidentally runs into Bonnie "Excuse me..." he apologises and walks off. The witch remains in her place and looks up with a weird look "You okay Bon?"

"When I touched him, I saw something"

"Come here" she takes the witch aside from prying ears and closes the door "What did you see?"

"I saw you"

"Her?" Stefan quizzes. 

Bonnie does the facial expression of I-wanna-barf "She was um, kissing him"

Kat groans and restores her posture "He's Katherine's new play toy"

"Um, how do you know this?" Stefan quizzes.

"I saw a scene like that when I ran into him at my house. Why do you think I came to yours that day?"

Damon enters with an irritated non-smile "Mason Lockwood's looking for a moonstone that allegedly can break the full moon werewolf curse. Maybe Katherine wants it as well"

"How do you know that?"

"Your little baby bro is searching for a purpose in life" the older Salvatore answers, making her brows furrow.

"You know what? I'm gonna go check on Jeremy. Don't screw up. And don't hurt Mase" she instructs as she pecks Damon's cheek, hurrying out before any of the trio could speak.

▹▹▹

She sees her brother stomping over to Tyler Lockwood, who's doing his duty without any trouble for once in history. Bypassing people, Kat yanks Jeremy by the collar, pulling him aside "What is wrong with you?!"

"What?"

"I need you to stay away from this. It's dange-"

"I want to! Let me, go" he fights against her grip, which only tightens "Look Jerry, if you get hurt, it'll scar you more than it already has. Your 15 years old! Damnit, act like it!"

"You know what? How about you shove your 'stay-away' crap in your asses? Between you and Elena, enough! Don't be such hypocrites! I'll be fine"

He starts walking away when she stops him "I love you, you know that right?"

"I do, now let me do this. I'll be safe, I promise"

She hugs him, smacking his head "Idiot"

"Jerk, I'll call you if there's trouble"

She lets him go, that's it Jerry, she thinks, I'm scared that you might not be able to.

▹▹▹

In the middle of her instructions, Kat gets a message from Caroline

Care: Moonstone in well @ Old Lockwood grounds. Used to play there...?

Mason wants the moonstone. Katherine wants the moonstone. That means the Guardian wants it doubly more.

"Boys, I got a call from home, can you handle stuff here?" she asks the caterers and points to the menu. Everything major has been selected, the only thing left is documenting it for the office.

She rushes out, carrying her strap bag with her. It has a pair of clothes and a hair brush. When she goes out in the town and returns with muddy or burnt or torn clothes, explanations to Jenny became a pain in her arse.

She speeds over to the well place near the old Lockwood cells. What is with Mason and these ruins? She pushes the rusty sharp metal cover off from the stone well and looks inside 

"Hmm, well enough" she says, and rolls her eyes at the unconscious pun. 

She sets the bag down, stripping down to her slip and letting the jeans stay on. She ties her hair into a bun and looks down once again, gulping down, there's a platform in the side that offers her a way to come up.

"Okay, here goes nothing" she brings her middle three fingers and kisses them for courage. Closing her eyes, she stands on the edge of the well.

"You gotta go.... Okay? Go!" she tries to push herself but her body doesn't obey. "If you jump, you'll get a chocolate cake all for yourself. Jump!"

This time, she does jump and lands safely in the well.

"See? Piece of ca-" her body starts burning.

"O god. No, no, no, no!" she pushes herself to the wall of the well, the stones digging into her back, not healing either.

She shouts and curses the vervain she took this morning. Stupid, stupid, stupid. But the vervain did slow down the burning as she's part-human. "Moonstone, moonstone, moonstone"

She raises her arms above her, keeping them out of Mason's clever trick of water, at the edge. The girl runs her fingers over the jutting stone, not caring if her fingers start bleeding. Finally, she's rewarded by a smooth surface. "Thank you Blair-" she whispers, looking up, but she sees a silhouette and the rest of her words morph into a scream a steam engine would envy.

"Who is it?!" she hears a familiar sound and relaxes. But her hands touch the water and she jerks them back up, this time taking the box "It's me Stefan, Kat! Caroline told me about the moonstone so I-"

"You what?!" he screams "I'm coming down!"

"No! The water's filled with vervain"

"No, I'm coming do-"

"You put one foot on that ledge Stefan Salvatore, I'm gonna jump up there and stake you myself! You like that sound? I'll s-"

When she looks at the slippery thing writhing up her wrist and she screams the rest of her threat "-naaaaaaake"

She wiggles and wiggles but the creature holds on, panicking, she puts her into the water and feels it float away from her sizzling hand. "Kat! I'm coming down!" this time it's Elena.

"Both of you just shut up! Throw me something, like, like a rope or something"

"I've got something" she hears Caroline shout, music to her hears, she looks up gratefully and watches her throw down a heavy rusted chain "Grab hold Kat!"

"Pull me up..." the Guardian instructs calmly but her voice rises an octave when she sees another snake, or the same one, creep over the wall towards her "Quick!"

When she gets out, she places the moonstone on the edge, helping herself up over the edge of the well.

But immediately, she's bombarded by an angry Salvatore "Are you okay?" he holds her by the shoulders and she winces, her back probably bruised or sore "Sorry..." he winces with her. He lets go of her but again, starts shouting "What is wrong with you?! You could've gotten hurt in there! How stupid can you be!"

"I'm fine okay?" she offers her very slowly healing arms and winces sheepishly "I will be"

"She's fine Stefan" Elena speaks up, offering a shirt to her twin. "I-oh thank you Elena..." she takes it and rushes off, taking her bag along.

"I'll be at the Boarding House, bye people, the stone's all yours"

▹▹▹

Kat enters the Salvatore residence to be blasted with screams and groans. Mason's tied to a chair by the fireplace in the parlour and Damon stands there, smirking and angry. And Jeremy stands to the side, a book in his hand.

"Mason!" she rushes to him, starts untying him when Damon stops her "Kat..."

"Don't 'Kat' me! You're torturing him, she tries to pull him up but he just thuds down weakly. "I can't..."

"The guy is a werewolf Kat! He'd kill me and Stefan the first chance he got! You need to leave" he pulls her up harshly but she struggles "No. No!"

"He wants me to kill him, anyway. Don't you, Mason? It really is a curse, isn't it? Breaking your bones every time..."

The Lockwood doesn't speak, he just leans against the fireplace, taking in deep breaths. The wolfsbane burns every cell of his body, reminding him of every bone he's broken, healed, and re-broken.

"Letty pl-" cough "-ease. It's okay" he smiles a sad smile.

"Jeremy" she turns to her brother, "Go home"

"No! I'm st-"

"I said go!" her eyes turn amber and he staggers back, rushing to the door, with a nod.

She turns to the man who watched her grow up, the blue-eyed hero who stole her away for chocolates and ice cream. The man who she never thought would want to die.

She kneels in front of him, tears in her eyes "Maso-"

"Let him do it"

She shakes her head, hugging him on her knees "I c-can't let him do it. I won't. You" she glares "are not dying"

"I just ask for one thing" he whispers, bloody hand running over her hair.

"What?" she sniffles like she did when she fell off her bicycle years ago.

"Make it better" he smiles sadly, his blue eyes glowing in the embers of the fireplace.

"How?"

He takes her hand - both his big ones covering hers as he asks "Make it better" They close their eyes.

She's 9 again and she sniffles as Tyler runs off with her cycle. She looks down at her scraped knee.

"Oh my God, come 'ere!" Mason kneels down before her with a concerned frown. "Does it hurt Kat?"

 The little girl glares around the corner, where Tyler ran off "Tyler took my bicycle, he said I couldn't win against him"

Mason kisses her forehead with a smug smile "Let's show him he's wrong, climb on up" he offers his back to her. She shakes her head "But I'm so heavy!"

"It's alright Kat... Let's go! He's getting ahead, fast fast!" he laughs, making her jump on his back with a determined yelp.

And he held her tight and ran fast. She was soon feet away from Tyler... with Tyler... Past Tyler. And she wins!

"Yay!" she shouts, resting her little smiling head on his unruly ones. She cheers, hooting at her astonished Lockwood friend.

"You won see?" he sets her down "My Kat always tries, hmm" he ruffles her hair. But his face turns serious as he pleads with his god-daughter "Take care of him okay? Tyler needs you"

A flash goes by her happy face and Mason's and Kat is grounded to reality. Kat falls onto the hard floor on her back, tears springing into the air. A bloody heart lies at her feet and her wide green-eyes flit back to her sticky hand. And Mason's right on top of hers.

Her red, bloody, shining red hand. She staggers up, only to stumble down. Stefan catches her.

To his surprise, she struggles out of his arms, running outside, into her car. She grabs the wheel with her slippery hands and floors it to her house, leaving behind the Salvatores.

▹▹▹

"Hey Ka-" Alaric's voice stops as he takes in her expression and her trembling. He looks around to see Jenna and Elena in the kitchen, laughing at something. "Kat? Wh-"

"I killed him" she shakes her head.

He gulps down in uncertainity and look at her scraped nails and bloody hands. "Go upstairs, deep breath" he sends her off without a question.

The girl pushes back the door and goes into the bathroom, her hands tinting the water pink in the basin. Her hair is murky and her scalp itches with vervain, her nails are scraped and her back is sore.

Her eyes are amber and her lips tremble.

She steps into the shower, shoes and all, as she lets cold water cascade over her treacherous self.

Her tears blend with the water. Her cries blend with the roar of the splash.

▹▹▹

"Hey! Ric's outside, taking a call. Could you check if this is worthy of eating?" Jenna jokes but stops when she sees the expressionless elder twin. Elena turns about to see her standing there, hands at her sides, eyes not seeing anything, but having seen everything.

"Hey..." she goes up, worry surpassing anger "Kat? You alright?"

"I'm.. fine. What did you make Jenna?" she withdraws from the hug to see the dish "Needs more cheese"

"Thanks!"

Alaric comes in then, having cleaned the steering wheel of all blood. "Hey Kat? Everything alright?"

"Yeah of course Ric, why won't I be?" Jenna's phone rings. She excuses herself and goes into the living room, engrossed.

"What happened?" the younger twin asks.

"M-Mason"

"What about him?"

She looks down at her hands, still feeling the raw scent of blood on her hands. Alaric puts a hand on her shoulder "Kat..."

"Of course, I understand... Elena?" Jenna calls for the straight-haired sister "It's for you"

"Who is it?"

She just shrugs, holding out the phone robotically. Elena and Ric walk off with wide eyes after she puts the device to her ear.

"So" Kat tries to put on a facade for the woman "what say?" she holds out a spoon.

Jenna doesn't reply, only takes hold of the largest knife from the stand and analyses it. She holds it weirdly, handle out.

"Jenno no!" they hear, just as she pushes the sharp metal into her torso. Or tries to.

Kat shoves her hand aside as soon as she can, saving Jenna from a painful stab.

"Wha- O my God Kat!" the aunt comes out of her trance, looking at the Guardian's bleeding hand.

"Jenna? Are you okay?"

"I'm okay! What about you!" she points to the hand again, fumbling around for a cloth.

"Kat..." Alaric and Elena rush to her, helping in tying it up. A deep cut goes from her right elbow to the face of her wrist, narrowly missing her artery.

"She's bleeding!" Jenna panics, earning an uncertain look from the audience. "Jenna get the first-aid kit, I'll patch her up" Alaric sends her off.

"What happened?" Kat asks, bravely pressing harder on the now bloody cloth on her hand.

"Katherine compelled Jenna, she got her off vervain"

She curses, jerking her hand to hit it on the table but wincing in pain "You had one job Elena!" Her whole hand throbs, along with her head.

"Why aren't you healing?" Elena asks worriedly.

"Maybe because I... deserve it" her feet stagger as she steps forward for support.

Before everything supernatural in her life, Kat knew just how much she loved being human. But now, having experienced that quick burn and sting of healing, she can't imagine why.

Her eyes roll over as she just thuds down onto the floor, mind welcoming darkness.

▹▹▹

Kat opens her groggy eyes to hear sniffling in a hospital room.

"Jenny?" she whispers meekly. Her aunt rushes to her side "O my God, don't ever do that again!"

"I'm okay, see? Nothing much" she tries to raise her hand but winces in pain and weakly puts it down, mustering up balance to not just thump it down.

"You need to eat" Alaric comes in, followed by Elena and Jeremy.

The elder Gilbert scoffs "And hospital food is so good"

He doesn't smile, just sets down a bar of wrapped chocolate "Eat, you fainted of lack of food and dehydration" Elena puts in.

"Jenna, you need to fill in something at the reception" they send the only oblivious person in the room out to talk about raw reality.

"Does she remember anything?"

"No, part of Katherine's compulsion"

Anger shines through her eyes, the colour of flame tinting and clouding the Guardian's eyes.

"She'll pay"

Jeremy, burdened with truths of a nature no fifteen year old should know, puts a strong hand on his hurt sister's shoulder "She will".

▹▹▹

Jenna and Jeremy went home to set the girl's room for her discharge in a few hours.

Elena sits on the bed beside Kat as Alaric eyes the unmoving yet awake Guardian. "Eat" he insists again.

The girl looks towards the chocolate, but she doesn't see the golden wrapper.

She sees blue eyes.

"Mason..." tears well up in her eyes.

"Vivi" they hear a voice in the doorway. Stefan Salvatore rushes in, wide eyes and trembling hands.

He doesn't look at any of the others in the room, just the frail strong girl sitting back against the bed, hand carefully in her lap, eyes tearful and lips trembling.

The vampire rushes to her, hugging her tight to himself. Perhaps he surprises everyone in the room with this gesture. He rocks her back and forth with shallow breaths, angry and so worried about what happened to her.

"I'm alright, just doppelganger hijinks" she brushes it off, not letting go of the man nonetheless. He's perhaps the only one who could understand her out of all the people in this world.

"Can I talk to you for a second Stefan?" Elena clears her throat, making the duo withdraw quickly from each other.

The couple go out, Alaric sighs "Damon told me... about Mason, I'm sorry Kat" his hand crawls closer to pat her but she cringes away with a guilty tremble in her lips. Being close to her will only get him killed. That's what happened to person whom she shared a dependant bond with.

"I will talk about it, but... I don't think I can. Just yet" she looks at the bar once again "Can you please throw that bar down the dump!" she snarks, then sighs out in apology "I-I didn't mean it... I'm sorry Ric"

"Down the dump it is" he throws it into the bin at the end of the room, making the Gilbert breathe out in visible relief.

"Ric? Can you take me home?" Elena stands in front of the door, voice trembling.

"What's wrong Elena?" her twin's brows furrow. She just shakes her head "I wanna go home, can you drive Ric, please?"

"Go..." Kat nods to the man "I'll be alright"

He hesitates but nods, snatching the car keys from the younger Gilbert's palm. Just as they leave, Ric glances behind, not at Kat, but just outside the room.

A hunched shadow shakes near the door "Stefan?"

He doesn't reply. "Stefan?" she frowns.

He stalks inside, tears glistening in his forest green eyes. "Come 'ere" she opens her arms, worried for her friend. He shakes his head, wrapping his arms tightly around her, not daring to let go.

"Hey... What happened?"

He sniffles like a little boy, hugging her tighter "Elena, Elena left me"

"What?" her brows furrow in confusion.

"Katherine tore us apart. She got what she wante-"

"No... No no no no no no. Stefan don't say that" she holds his left shoulder with her uninjured hand "Katherine cannot tear you apart. Okay? Elena's just scared..."

The Salvatore doesn't answer, just looks down. He couldn't protect Jenna from compulsion, he couldn't protect Kat. And he can't protect Elena.

He cries his helplessness into her shoulder, her thumbs running soothing circles over his back.

"Elena loves you Stefan... She always will, she's scared. You hear me? She's scared. She's scared that she'll lose you. Shh" she coos silent nothings into his ear, rocking him back and forth as he sobs harder.

"I hate that I can't protect her. I hate it"

"Look at me. Look at me Stefan Salvatore" she jerks his head up, making him look at her blazing eyes "That Katherine may tear you apart, but this Katherine is going to hold you together. What is she going to do?" she asks the little boy in front of her.

"You're going to hold us together" he sniffles, squaring his shoulders.

"She loves you..."

That night, closing her teary green eyes in the plush bed of her home, Kat couldn't help but feel like Stefan Salvatore's plan B.