02. Yellow Ledbetter

Four Months Ago,

After talking with Amelia Connor, both Kol and Damon were teleported back into the woods, both the vampires opened their eyes and looked at their surroundings in confusion.

"Are we back with the living?" Kol asked, realising they were back at the place in which they had left from.

"Aria's mom said she was sending us to a prison world, not the living world" Damon reminded.

"So, what?" Kol asked, "The prison world looks exactly like the living world?".

"Seems like it" Damon replied, equally as confused as Kol.

"What happened?" Bonnie asked, walking over to the two vampires, "Where is everybody?".

"Are you bloody kidding?!" Kol yelled, glaring at the Bennett, "She's here as well?".

Damon ignored both Bonnie and Kol and started walking away.

"And where the hell are you going?" Kol asked.

"I'm going to find Kai" Damon replied, "Remember? According to Amelia Connor, he's our way out of here".

"What?" Bonnie asked confused.

"Did you have to say that infront of her?" Kol asked, following Damon.

Damon and Kol walked the empty roads of Mystic Falls, with a confused Bonnie behind them.

"Well, I feel a fang, I'm still a vampire" Damon said, checking his teeth for his fangs.

"This is definitely Mystic Falls" Kol said, looking around, "It's a bit different, but still the death town we all know and hate and sometimes love".

The trio's eyes landed on a intact Mystic Grill, "I definitely blew that up about an hour ago" Damon said confused.

"Why don't we see any people?" Bonnie asked, making Kol roll his eyes in annoyance, "If we're still on the other side, we should at least be able to see the living".

"We're not on the other side, genius" Kol snapped.

"Then where are we?" Bonnie challenged.

"We're--".

"Kol, shut up" Damon interrupted, glaring at the Mikaelson, "Remember what Aria's mom said".

Kol remembered Amelia Connor warning him and Damon to not trust Bonnie.

"Right" Kol said.

"Wait, Aria's mom?" Bonnie asked confused.

"Alright, here's the thing, me and Damon are going to go our own way, and you're going to go your own way" Kol said, glaring at the Bennett witch.

"Are you serious?" Bonnie asked shocked.

"Very" Damon replied.

"And remember witch, if I see you, I will kill you, and if you come back, I'll just do it over and over again" Kol threatened, walking away from Bonnie.

"If I was you, I'd take his threat very seriously" Damon said, following Kol, both the vampires leaving Bonnie to find her own way around the prison world.

***

Present Day, 

"You want me to do what?" Alaric asked shocked.

"Not forever" Aria quickly said, "I would never forget Damon forever, I just need one year without the memories".

"Aria--".

"Just listen to me" Aria pleaded, "I'm becoming a drug addict Ric, I have three lives that are relying on me, but I can't take care of them if I'm not in control of myself, the triplets are newborn babies right now, if I forget Damon for a year, it won't affect them, I just need a year Ric, to get my life back in order, then exactly a year from now you will make me remember again, or when Damon and Kol return".

Alaric looked at Aria in confusion, "Return?".

Aria sighed, "I haven't told anyone this yet, but my connection with Damon and Kol, it's still there, I can still feel it, if my bracelet wasn't spelled from the time I left with Klaus, I don't want to imagine the amount of physical pain I would be in, if Damon and Kol were dead, my connection with them should have been broken, but it hasn't, which means they are stuck somewhere, and I know them, and I know they are doing everything in their power to come back to me, but till they are back, I can't keep going like this, it hurts so much, I just need a few months without the pain, please Ric, try to understand".

"How about this, right now, go into your room and sleep, take some time and think this through properly Aria" Alaric suggested.

"I have thought this through properly Ric" Aria snapped, standing up, "I'm just asking for a year or till Damon and Kol are back, if you don't do this, then the other option is turning my humanity off, which is even worse".

Alaric sighed and stood up, "Aria, go to sleep, and if tomorrow when you wake up, and you still want this, I will do it for you, I promise", Aria looked at Alaric, all ready to protest, but Alaric interrupted her, "That's the condition Aria, either take it or leave it".

Aria sighed, "Fine, but trust me, sleeping isn't going to magically change my decision".

Without hearing anything else from Alaric, Aria went into her room, she grabbed a notebook and pen and went into her kids nursery.

Entering the nursery, a small smile came on her face seeing her sleeping babies, sitting on the rocking chair Jeremy built, Aria started writing a letter.

Dear Damon...

***

"Shh, it's okay, I've got you" Aria whispered, walking around the nursery with Asher in her arms, while Aria was trying to get Asher to calm down, Alec started crying.

"I've got him" Caroline assured, entering the nursery and picking Alec up.

"You came" Aria whispered.

"You call and I come, it's that simple, Aria" Caroline said, as Alec immediately clamed down in her arms.

"He loves you" Aria said, as she put Asher back into his crib.

"Of course he does, I'm his favorite aunt" Caroline said, looking down at Alec, who was looking at her with eyes that reminded her so much of Damon, "Right monkey? Tell your mom that I'm your favorite", Caroline lightly tickling Alec, making a smile form on his face, "Aria, look he's smiling" Caroline said excitedly.

Aria chuckled, "I can already see you playing favorites with him in the future".

"Well, Mia has Klaus and Jeremy wrapped around her little finger, Asher has Elijah, Finn and Enzo, and little Alec has me and Rebekah" Caroline said, laying Alec back in his crib.

"Did Rebekah tell you?" Aria asked suddenly, as her and Caroline watched the triplets.

Last night, after her talk with Alaric, Aria wanted to tell both Caroline and Rebekah her decision, but Liz informed her that Caroline wasn't well, so Aria decided to tell Rebekah first, and after an hour phone call, Rebekah finally agreed with Aria's plan.

Caroline sighed, "Rebekah texted me with your full plan".

"Figured" Aria said.

"Aria, you know I support you in everything, but I have to ask, are you sure about this?" Caroline asked.

Aria nodded, "I'm sure Caroline, look, if you guys are so worried, instead of a year, give me at least six months, I just need some time to live my life without the pain of losing my soulmate, when I remember Kol, I become sad, which I can handle, but when I remember Damon, I become angry and dangerous".

"If you are sure about this and you've thought about everything, then I support you" Caroline said, "I've been there from the start of yours and Damon's love story, I know how much you two loved each other".

"Love" Aria corrected.

"Love" Caroline said, a small smile, "I don't think any of us can even comprehend what you're going through, so if this is your decision, you have my full support, as long as this memory lost isn't permanent".

Aria smiled at Caroline, she knew no matter what, her sister would always be by her side, "This isn't permanent, once the triplets grow up, they need to know their parents epic love story, and that to from me", Aria grabbed a envelope from the dresser and handed it to Caroline, "Here".

"What's this?" Caroline asked confused.

"If Rebekah told you about my decision, I'm guessing she told you about my connection with Damon and Kol still being intact?" Aria asked.

"She did" Caroline replied.

"I've gone through so many grimoires in the past four months, to see if my connection can bring Damon and Kol back somehow, like their connection brought me back, but nothing has worked, but I know they're going to come back, maybe not now, but soon they will be back" Aria said, "And when they're back and I still don't have memories of Damon, or when the six months are over, I need you to give me that letter, the rest future me will do".

"You really have thought everything through" Caroline realised.

Aria nodded, "I have" she said, "So will you give it to me?".

"Of course, I will" Caroline said.

Aria smiled, "Thank you for supporting me".

"That's what sisters do" Caroline said, hugging Aria, who gladly hugged her back.

Suddenly, both Asher and Alec started crying again, causing the sisters to break their hug and look towards the babies.

"Time for motherly duties" Caroline said.

Aria chuckled, "I swear, Mia is an angel compared to these two, she hardly cries compared to Alec and Asher".

"Well, Mia's clearly your copy, while the twins are Damon's" Caroline said, picking Alec up.

Aria laughed and picked Asher up, "Agreed".

***

"Say everything again" Aria said, sitting in Alaric's office, after dropping the triplets at Caroline's, where Liz, Klaus and Caroline babysat them, Klaus having decided to stay in Mystic Falls till Caroline gives birth.

"I raided the Psychology Department's research library" Alaric said, "In a nutshell, we'll be using a combination of hypnotherapy and memory-reprocessing techniques".

"Is it easily undone?" Aria asked, Alaric nodded in assurance, "Okay, before we start this, I need you to have this", Aria handed Alaric an envelope, "This is a letter to Damon, if he comes back before the six months are over, I need you to give him that, it will explain everything to him".

Alaric nodded and took the letter from Aria, "I'll give it to him" he assured.

"And, in case something goes wrong, and somehow you won't be able to bring my memories back, I need you to add a loophole, that as soon as me and Damon fall back in love, all the memories will come back to me" Aria said, positive that with or without her memories her and Damon will fall in love with each other.

"Okay, anything else you want to add to the compulsion?" Alaric asked.

"Yeah, don't compel me to think Damon's a monster, just say that he's the father of my children and that's it, I cared for him but I need to move on" Aria replied, not wanting to ever think Damon's a monster.

"Okay" Alaric said, "So shall we start".

Aria nodded, "Let's do this".

"The more we talk, the more you'll relax and open your mind to me" Alaric compelled, "We're gonna be searching through memories that are deeply embedded, and each significant memory that we hit which is connected to Damon I will help you modify, and this should eventually lead us to the signature memory which, once erased, will create a positive domino effect through all your other memories".

"So you can't just compel me to forget everything at once?" Aria asked.

"No" Alaric replied, "I'm supernaturally rewiring five years of your memories, if it were that easy, I wouldn't be so terrified", Aria nodded in understanding and Alaric started compelling her again, "I have some questions, answer them honestly".

"I will answer all of your questions honestly" Aria replied in a daze.

"Do you have doubts about this?" Alaric asked.

"A little bit" Aria replied, "But I think I've thought about most things that could go wrong and found a solution to them".

"Are you afraid?" Alaric asked.

"Terrified" Aria replied.

"Why terrified?" Alaric asked.

"I'm terrified because I don't want Damon to think that our love didn't mean anything to me" Aria replied, "Truth is, it means everything to me, which is why surviving without him is so hard".

"Do you trust me to be digging around in your mind?" Alaric asked.

"Of course" Aria replied.

"Okay" Alaric said, "Well, then, let's--let's get started, who was Damon Salvatore?".

"He was my boyfriend, my soulmate, my everything" Aria replied, "I loved him with everything I had, and then he died".

"And when did you first meet him?" Alaric asked.

"When I was in high school" Aria remembered.

"Natalie".

"Uh, I think you've mistaken me for someone else, my name is Aria".

"I'm Damon".

"And what was he like?" Alaric asked.

"I don't know if it was our connection, or the universe, or just me, but as soon as I met him something inside of me came alive" Aria admitted, "I could sense the danger around him, but somehow I didn't care, because he never scared me, he always excited me because I never knew what was going to happen next with him".

"I honestly don't even know anymore, I don't know who I love, who I want, or even what I want".

"That's not true, you want what everybody wants".

"Okay Damon, please enlighten this stranger, as to what she wants, maybe then I can finally get my life in order".

"And how did he make you feel?" Alaric asked.

"Like I could get anything I wanted in my life" Aria replied.

Aria sighed, and started compelling Aria, "You had a nice moment on the road with a stranger, but that's all he was, a stranger".

"Stranger" Aria repeated, "Just two people passing by each other".

"Are you okay?" Alaric asked, slightly concerned.

"Yeah" Aria whispered, "I'm good".

***

Four Months ago,

"Ugh, how many more streets are we gonna wander?" Damon complained, as he and Kol wandered all over Mystic Falls, trying to find Kai.

"You're the one who wanted to find Kai" Kol said.

"What?" Damon asked, "You don't want to go back to the land of the living?".

"Of course I bloody do" Kol replied, "I just don't get how wandering the streets is going to send us back home, also, have you noticed something about these cars around us?".

"Yeah, they're almost all 20 years old or more, and yet they look brand-new" Damon realised, he's eyes then landed on the still intact Gilbert house, "And that is Aria's not-so-burnt-to-a-crisp childhood home".

Damon and Kol walked over to the house and Damon picked up the newspaper that was laying on the ground, opening it, he read the date, "Look" a shocked Damon said, showing Kol the newspaper.

"I don't care about the stupid solar eclipse Damon" Kol snapped, his eyes skimming the headline.

"Not the headline you idiot, the date" Damon snapped back.

"May 10th, 1994" Kol read, equally as shocked as Damon, "We're back in time?!".

Damon looked up at the sky as the solar eclipse started, "Seems like it" he replied.

"Great" Kol mumbled, "Just great, just what I needed after dying".

***

Present Day,

"Tell me about this moment" Alaric said, as Aria closed her eyes and relived the moment she found out about Damon being her savior.

"Damon, May 23rd 2009, the night of the accident, Stefan saved Elena but he had no idea who saved me, it was you wasn't it, you are the one who saved me, right?".

"Stefan doesn't know this, but I was also here at the time the accident occurred, I saw everything, I saw Stefan save Elena, I wasn't going to save anyone, I was going to let my brother be the hero his always been, but then suddenly, I felt something in my heart and I had this urge to save someone, so I jumped into the water and that's when I saw you, and soon as I saw you I knew what you meant to me, I immediately knew you were related to Natalie, and I knew you were a Connor witch and that we were connected, however I didn't want Stefan to know I was back so I stayed away from you, but I made sure you were always safe".

"And after that we had our first kiss" Aria informed, "At that time, I was in love with Jeremy, or I thought I was, but as soon as me and Damon kissed, something changed between us".

"You and Damon never kissed" Alaric compelled, "He told you that he saved you, and you were grateful to him, nothing else, nothing more".

"I was grateful to him, that's it" Aria repeated.

"Who was Damon Salvatore?" Alaric asked again.

"He was my boyfriend and my soulmate" Aria informed, "We were in love, and then he died".

Alaric sighed, "Why don't we take a little break, okay?" he asked, "To be honest, I could use a drink"

***

Four Months Ago,

"I wonder if there's any booze in this empty retroville" Damon said, as he and Kol sat on the Gilbert's porch.

"There better be" Kol said, "I need booze if I'm going to get through this".

"You and me both, brother" Damon said, "Alright, let's recap".

"After the other side collapsed, Aria's mom told us that she's sending us here, a prison world, so we could find our way back to Aria, but we can only do that once we find someone named Kai" Kol recapped.

"Question is, where the hell is this Kai?" Damon asked annoyed.

"Who bloody knows?" Kol replied.

"Is he even in Mystic Falls?" Damon asked.

"Why are you asking me questions, I don't have answers to?" Kol asked.

Damon groaned in annoyance, "He has to be somewhere here, Aria's mom specially told us to go to Mystic Falls to find him, and here we are, at Mystic Falls but with no sign of Kai anywhere" he complained.

"We have to assume Kai is a witch, right?" Kol asked, "Sheila Bennett and Amelia Connor were witches, that's how they sent us here, so if magic got us here, magic is the only way we can leave".

"And what happens if this Kai is not a witch?" Damon asked.

"Then we are so screwed" Kol replied.

"Lovely" Damon whispered.

***

Damon and Kol were now at the boarding house, with Damon making pancakes in the kitchen, while dancing to Wannabe by Spice Girls and drinking bourbon.

Kol stood on the doorway, and looked at the oldest Salvatore in amusement, trying his best not to burst out in laughter.

"How I wished I had my phone to record this" Kol said, letting Damon know his presence, "This is perfect blackmail material".

"Get lost" Damon said.

Kol chuckled, "I didn't know you could dance so well, darling".

"You realise the white oak state isn't destroyed here, I will find it and stake you with it" Damon threatened.

"I would like to see you try" Kol said, "Also, why are the mattresses so lumpy, I couldn't sleep properly".

"Because Kol, it's 1994" Damon reminded.

"Lovely" Kol said, he then pulled out a photo from his pocket.

"What's that?" Damon asked confused.

"I went to the Forbes house, and found this" Kol replied, handing the photo to Damon.

Damon looked at the photo and saw two new born babies held by Liz Forbes and Amelia Connor, he didn't need to ask Kol to know who the babies were, "That's Caroline and Aria with their moms" he realised, staring at baby Aria.

"Yeap" Kol said, a small smile on his face.

For a second Damon stared at the photo, then he folded it and put it in his pocket, and turned to Kol who was now eating his pancakes, "You found the photo, and I found this" he said, showing Kol the bottle of bourbon, "I drank it last year when Ric died".

Damon walked over to his stereo, he put a hand over his eyes and span his CD collection and picking out a random CD, he put it in the stereo.

"You need to learn to make better pancakes" Kol said, over the music, "These suck".

"Just shut up and eat, and quietly do this crossword" Damon said, handing the newspaper to Kol.

"Don't treat me like a kid" Kol complained, but nonetheless, started doing the crossword, "What's a five letter word for asshole? Oh I know, Damon!".

Damon glared at Kol, but before he could say anything, the sky went dark, just like yesterday.

"You've gotta be kidding me" Damon said, looking through the sky roof and realising it was a solar eclipse, again.

"Oh, bloody hell" Kol whispered, he quickly looked at the date on the newspaper and realised it was the same date as yesterday, "Damon, it's the same date as yesterday, may 10th, 1994, that means we're living the same day, over and over again".

"Well, that proves it, we're in hell" Damon stated, "My own personal custom-built hell, and you Kol, get to share it with me, bottoms up".

***

Present Day,

"It was the Miss Mystic Falls pageant" Aria recalled, "I  had asked Damon to be my escort, but last minute, Stefan, who was supposed to be Elena's escort, he went missing, so I asked Damon to be Elena's escort, but when I came down, I saw Damon waiting for me, turns out he convinced Jeremy to help Elena, while he fulfils his promise to me, that day he stayed by me, even when I told him to be with someone else, he grabbed my hand and led me out where Caroline and everyone else were with their dates, and we had this magical dance, I think that moment was the moment that made me realise I no longer love Jeremy".

Alaric looked at into Aria's eyes, "You went down the stairs, and no one was there, Damon was Elena's escort, not yours".

"Damon was Elena's escort not mine" Aria repeated, "I didn't care enough to be embarrassed, I got over it pretty quickly".

"Who was Damon Salvatore?" Alaric asked again.

"He was my boyfriend" Aria replied, "We were soulmates, but then he died", Aria sighed, "Ric, how much longer is this gonna take?".

"Until we find that signature moment, the moment you knew you loved him" Ric replied.

"It was when John Gilbert tried to kill Damon and all the other vampires in town" Aria said, "I remember the fear I felt when I thought Damon was gonna die, I knew I couldn't live without him because I was in love with him that's why I jumped in that fire to save him".

"Okay, in that moment you didn't love Damon, you saved him as a act of humanity, nothing else" Alaric compelled, "Who was Damon Salvatore?".

"He was my boyfriend--".

"That's not it, gotta dig deeper" Alaric interrupted, "Earlier".

"I don't know" Aria snapped.

"Well think about it Aria" Alaric snapped back, "Think about that moment you knew this person was somebody you had feelings for, that you loved, that you could see those feelings going on forever".

Aria suddenly remembered the bracelet, the bracelet that belonged to Natalie, that Damon had given her to keep her safe, the bracelet that was currently in the triplets nursery.

***

Two Months Ago,

"Still nothing?" Damon asked, as Kol entered the kitchen, an annoyed expression on his face.

"Still, bloody nothing" Kol replied.

"Then sit and do your crossword" Damon said, making pancakes.

"I've been doing this stupid crossword puzzle for the past two bloody months" Kol snapped, "But I still have no idea what the hell is twenty seven across, how the hell am I supposed to know what old tongue twister Eddie turned top 40?".

"Your ancient, you should know everything" Damon replied.

"Your not young either, idiot" Kol snapped.

"Being trapped here as definitely made you grumpy" Damon commented.

"Of course it has" Kol snapped, "I hate it here, and I hate your stupid pancakes!", Kol grabbed a fork and rapidly stabbed the pancakes Damon placed infront of him.

"Woah, don't take your anger out on the pancakes" Damon said, "Those pancakes, like myself, are waiting for you to find Kai so we can get the hell out of here".

"Okay, since when is finding Kai just my responsibility?!" Kol asked.

"Since now" Damon replied.

"What are you going to do then?" Kol asked, "Sit here and stare at Aria's baby photos".

"Yeap" Damon replied.

Kol grabbed a pancake and threw it at Damon, who easily dodged it.

"We both are stuck here, so both of us going to find Kai" Kol snapped.

"We've looked everywhere in Mystic Falls, Kol" Damon said, "Kai is no where to be found, further evidence we're in hell".

Kol opened his mouth to speak, when suddenly he heard something, "Did you hear that?" he asked.

"You say this every morning, Kol" Damon said, "But everytime it turns out to be nothing, you want to know why? Because we're the only two people here, as the witch who came with us doesn't dare come here because of you, meaning we were the only two people here two months ago, we're the only two people here now".

"Damon, I'm serious, I heard something" Kol said.

"Maybe it's the sound of existential despair" Damon said, "I hear that's what hell sounds like".

"This isn't hell" Kol snapped, "Aria's mom told us she's sending us to a prison world, I trust her, you should to".

***

Present Day,

"It's okay, Aria, you can tell me" Alaric assured, "Tell me the moment you knew you loved him".

"It was around the time he was still trying to get Katherine out of the tomb, to take revenge for Natalie's death" Aria whispered, tears in her eyes, "We just found out that I played a role in opening the tomb and Damon wanted to make sure I was safe, so he gave me Natalie's bracelet, that she gave to him, because she loved him and wanted to keep him safe from Katherine, as the bracelet has a spell that stops vampire compulsion, I knew what that bracelet meant to Damon, it was the last thing he had of Natalie, yet he gave it to me, and he told me that he didn't need a bracelet to remember Natalie, that my safety was more important, he didn't show it but it hurt him to give me the last thing that he had of Natalie, but he still gave it to me, to make sure no harm came upon me because of Anna or anyone else, at that time, Damon was known as the selfish brother, but that moment, made me realise how selfless he really was, and that moment, is when I fell for Damon Salvatore, a part of me was terrified, my whole life I'd been in love with Jeremy, so being in love with someone else was scary, but Damon's love isn't something I can ever explain in words, it's just the most beautiful feeling in this world".

"I need you to be sure" Alaric whispered, "Are you sure?".

Aria nodded, tears streaming down her face, "Just for six months, Ric".

"Just for six months" Alaric assured, "Damon never gave that bracelet to you, he never told you who it belonged to, or what it meant to him, let me ask you this one last time Aria, who was Damon Salvatore?".

"The father of my kids" Aria replied, "That's it, nothing else, nothing more, I am upset that my kids will never know their father, but sometimes tragedy happens, and we can't do anything about it".

***

Prison World, Present Day,

Damon entered his room, and all the moments he spent with Aria in this very room started flashing infront of him, he walked over to his dresser and opening it, he took a small wooden box, in which was Natalie's bracelet, which he knew in 1994 was here.

Damon looked at the bracelet with longing in his eyes.

***

"You alright?" Kol asked, as Damon entered the kitchen.

"Peachy" Damon replied, sitting on the table, "What's for dinner?".

"Noodles with a cup of blood" Kol replied, handing Damon his bowl, and sitting infront of him, for a moment just staring at his noodles, "I miss her as well".

Damon looked at Kol, "The triplets must be born by now" he whispered, "I'm missing out on them growing up".

"We've been here for four months, meaning the triplets must be around four months, they're still tiny, you have time" Kol assured.

"I just want to meet them" Damon admitted.

"And you will" Kol assured, "Very soon, just have hope".

Damon gave Kol a small smile, his eyes then landed on the newspaper, "Look who got twenty seven across".

"Not me, that's for sure" Kol said, eating his noodles.

"Yes, you, Kol" Damon said, confusing the Original, "An old tongue twister Eddie turned top 40, Eddie Vedder, Pearl Jam, Yellow Ledbetter, good work".

Kol looked at Damon in confusion, he grabbed the newspaper off of him and looked at it in shock, "This is you messing with me" he said.

"No it isn't, but is it you messing with me?" Damon asked.

"Damon, I didn't write this" Kol said, "This isn't even my handwriting".

"Well, neither did I" Damon said confused.

Kol looked at Damon in shock, "Looks like Kai might be around after all".

***

Presenting 6x02 of The Vampire Diaries . . .

How was the chapter? Don't hate me for making Aria forget Damon, I needed to do it for drama, otherwise it was going to be too hard to fit Aria in this season >.<

Thoughts on Aria wanting six months without any of Damon's memories?

Thoughts on Kol and Damon realising they are living the same day on loop?

Thoughts on Aria officially forgetting Damon?

Thoughts on Damon and Kol realising they aren't alone?