Jeremy had tried to kill Elena at the pagaent, making her move in with us and making Stefan move in with Caroline. 

The more a Hunter killed, the more he wanted to kill.

That was Reason Number Two why I didn't want to "awaken" as a Hunter.

The next morning, I was in the library pouring three drinks because Stefan had came home to tell Damon something, and he had said that it would be better dealt with if we had drinks aleady on stand by.

Stefan told us everything that he and Caroline were thinking that was happening to Elena.

Elena was sired to Damon.

"Sired?" Damon repeated. "Really, Stefan? That is the most pathetic nonsense I've ever heard come out of your mouth, and you've said some crap in your day." 

"It was your blood that turned her, right?" Stefan asked. "I mean, she's been different from Day One because of you. You can't deny that." 

"Sure I can," Damon told him. "I finally got Elena to a good place about being a vampire. You two idiot can't stand that she's happy because of me." 

"All right, you know what?" I asked. "I've got an idea to put the flames of this fight out real quick." 

"And how's that?" Damon asked.

"Just prove him wrong," I told him. "Tell her it's okay to drink from a blood bag." 

"She can't," Damon told me. "Her weird Doppelganger body rejected the blood from the bag." 

"Right, because you told her to," Stefan told him. "You said she had to drink warm human blood straight from the vein. She almost died to make you happy."

Damon was still skeptic. 

"Look, just ask her to drink from a blood bag," I told him. "Make sure you'll tell her how happy you'll be if it works. If Stefan's wrong, I'll make sure that he's the first to apologize." 

Stefan looked at me. "You will?" 

"Yes, I will," I answered.

Damon looked at Stefan. "When her body rejects this blood, which it will, your apology better be epic." 

Damon stood, walking away, leaving. 

~~~~

I walked into the library to see Damon rummaging through old papers. "What are you doing?" 

"Elena is sired," Damon answered. The next time he spoke, his voice was louder. "You were right, I was wrong. Happy?" 

I turned my head to see Stefan standing in the doorway. 

"No, I'm not happy," Stefan told him. "But what are we gonna do about it?" 

"Well, I'm working on it," Damon told him. "Here." He held a picture up for Stefan to see. "Remember that?" 

Stefan took the picture from Damon, looking at it. "New Orleans." 

"1942, to be exact," Damon told us. 

I sat down. "What was in New Orleans in 1942?" 

"Other than bourbon and beads . . ." Damon trailed off, looking toward Stefan. "Me and Stefan." 

"Oh, yeah," Stefan said. I looked at a hat from the '40s meant for a woman, taking it out of the box and setting it on my head, the ends long enough to cover my eyeline of the ceiling.  "What was the name of that girl you used to hang out with?" 

"That was no ordinary girl," Damon told us. "That was Charlotte. She was crazy about me from the minute we met. So, of course, when she asked me to turn her, I did." 

~~~~

Damon had told this Charlotte girl to not let anyone touch his drink and show them no mercy if they did. 

A sailor had spilled the drink, and Charlotte had snapped his neck, saying, "He spilled your drink. You said show no mercy. I thought it'd make you happy." 

 "That was my first clue," Damon told us.

"She was sired to you," I realized. "And I can only assumed you took full advantage of that until you got bored of her, right?" 

"More like when she went all 'Fatal Attraction' on me," Damon told me. "Then I had to make a clean break."

"How'd you do that?" Stefan asked.

Damon found the paper he had been looking for. "Ah, here." 

Damon handed it to me.

I took it, reading. Valarie Lamarche, 920 Dauphine St. 

"Who's Valarie Lamarche?" I asked.

"The witch that I found to help me break little Charlotte's sire bond," Damon answered, taking a swig of his drink. Stefan looked at him curiously. Damon stood. "Pack your bags. We're going to Bourbon Street." 

Damon walked away.

I rolled my eyes, turning around as he walked out of the room, looking at Stefan with a head tilt.

Stefan shook his head, turning after him and following.

I looked at the paper Damon had given me, taking the hat off my head, letting it fall onto the box I had taken it out of, looking up and following them. 

~~~~

In New Orleans, we walked through the crowd of people partying in the streets to the jazz music, looking around. 

"Well, the city is the same," Stefan told us. "Just brighter." 

"Have you been back here since '42?" Damon asked.

"Nope," Stefan answered. "Not since I shipped off to join the war effort and you didn't." 

"Somebody had to entertain the ladies who had been left by their menfolk," Damon told us.

"I'm guessing that there is a story lying in there somewhere," I told them. 

"You're skipping to the last page," Damon told me. I shrugged. Damon's phone chimed. He took it out, looking at the text. "Hey, good news. Elena is at the house with the girls, where she can't get in trouble. Bad news. I think they got into the Dom. Told her to make herself at home." 

I turned to face him. "Yeah, you told her, so she does, right?" 

Damon scoffed, walking past me. "Sire bond is not that literal, Nikki."

Stefan turned to Damon. "Really? Name one thing that you've asked her to do that you haven't gotten, huh?" 

Damon turned to Stefan. "You know what I haven't gotten? Blame, guilt. I get it, Stefan. I get that your pissed tht Elena dumped you because she has feelings for me. Bet you blame the sire bond for that, too." 

"Yeah," Stefan answered. "You know what? I absolutely do." 

"Why?" Damon asked. "Because it's impossible to think she could have feelings for me?" 

"No, because it's impossible for her to be so blind that she doesn't see how wrong you are for her," Stefan told him, walking closer, standing face to face. Damon turned around and walked away. Stefan looked at me. I gave him a look, nodding to Damon. Stefan sighed, looking after Damon. "Hey, wait, Damon, I'm sorry." 

Damon turned to face us. "What'd you say?" 

~~~~

Lexi had brought Stefan to New Orleans for them to make up. 

 They had, talking about Stefan going to Egypt to make up for the pain he had caused. 

Lexi had told Damon that he wasn't going with Stefan because he would make him bad again.

Charlotte had showed up with blood, messing everything up. 

 We were walking through the streets again.

"I apologize, all right?" Stefan asked. "As much as I hate this sire bond thing, I shouldn't take it out on you. It's not really your fault." 

"Well, don't get all warm and fuzzy on me yet," Damon told him. We stopped in front of an apartment. "It's where the witch lived."

"What?" I asked. "You weren't expecting to find the same exact witch in the same place?" 

 "No, but since I couldn't remember where the store was, figured it'd give us a start," Damon told us.

"Maybe there's another place to start," Stefan told us. "You think Charlotte might be in New Orleans?" 

"Yeah, maybe," Damon told us. 

"Where was the last place you saw her?" Stefan asked.

"Corner of Bourbon and Dumaine," Damon answered. "Kind of told her to count every brick in every building in New Orleans, and I'd meet her at the corner. I was gone by morning." 

I tilted my head at him in exasperation.

Stefan turned around and walked away.

I looked after him. "Where are you going?" 

Stean turned around, looking at us, backing away. "Corner of Bourbon and Dumaine. See how literal the sire bond is." 

Damon followed him.

I sighed, following them. 

~~~~

Walking down Bourbon, we stopped at the corner where it met at Dumaine. 

"There's no way she's gonna be in the same spot after 70 years," I told them.

"So, what are we gonna tell Elena?" Stefan asked.

 "I was hoping we wouldn't have to tell her anything," Damon told us.

Stefan scoffed. "Well, we can't just lie to her." 

"It's not a lie," Damon told him. "It's an omission or the greater good.

"Oh, I see," Stefan told him. "I see. That's Damon speak for 'Let's not do the right thing, let's just do what's right or me." 

"Oh, what about you, O Selfless one?" Damon asked. I tilted my head forward in annoyance. "Are you doing what's best for Elena or what's best for you? Because it looks to me like the only reason you want to break Elena's sire bond is to restore her original factory 'Team Stefan' settings." 

Stefan and Damon stared each other down.

I spoke up to break the tension. "I'm gonna go get a drink. Hunt me down when you both stop being dicks." 

I turned around, walking away.

Stefan, looking ashamed, sighed, starting to follow me. "Wait, Nicola . . ." 

I turned to him, backing away, shaking my head. "I don't wanna talk if you're gonna be that way." 

"I would never be that way toward you," Stefan told me.

"Oh, but being that way to your own brother is so much better," I said sarcastically, turning around, proceeding to walk away.

We heard a noise from the alley we had left Damon at the corner. 

Stefan rushed away, going to help Damon.

I turned back, running toward them, seeing a vampire on the ground as I stopped next to Stefan and Damon. 

"What the hell just happened?" I asked.

"She kissed me," Damon answered.

The girl stood, walking toward us, smiling at the sight of Damon. "Damon, I always knew you'd come back for me. I must have counted literally every brick on every building in all of New Orleans." 

Well, hello, Charlotte. 

Damon looked taken aback, turning to look at us.

Stefan looked horrified.

I was just completely shocked. "Literally. Every. Brick?" 

 Damon looked away, clearly ashamed.

~~~~

Charlotte wrapped her arms around Damon's neck.

Damon tried to back away. "Uh, Charlotte. Uh . . . Ha." He patted her arm and pulled away from her. "Please tell me you had a full life and that you've done something other than counting bricks."

"Of course I have," Charlotte told us. "I'm not crazy." 

Damon shook his head, as if agreeing with her comment about not being crazy.

"Then why are you still here?" I asked. 

Charlotte turned her head to look at me. "You know, when someone breaks up with you and there's a song that reminds you of them . . . First, you hate it." She placed her hand on Damon's shoulder, caressing it. "But then it brings back all the good memories of them. Counting the bricks is my song, and I've been playing it for decades." 

"That's a really long time stuck listening to the same song," Stefan told her dryly. 

Charlotte wrapped her arms around Damon's neck.

"Yeah, heh . . ." Damon trailed off, grabbing her hands from around his neck, pulling them away, gently patting them between his own hands. "Well, you know, in the plus column, you know New Orleans better than anyone in the world. Which is really nice, because we need your help finding someone." 

Charlotte tilted her head, looking at Damon questioningly. 

~~~~

We walked into Nandi's voodoo shop. 

A middle aged woman walked out from the back of the shop. "Can I help you?" 

"Hi," Damon told her. "We're looking for a witch. Sorry, no time for pleasantries." 

Stefan looked at Damon.

"I'm sorry," the woman told us. "I don't understand." 

"Look . . ." Damon trailed off, looking at the board behind her, where "Nandi Special" was written. "Nandi, is it? Let's skip the part where you pretend like you don't know what we're talking about." He looked at Stefan and me. Stefan raised his eyebrows in acknowledgement. I nodded. "We need a spell that could break a vampire sire bond. Now, there was a witch here named Val. Ring any bells?" 

"She was my great-grandmother," Nandi told us. 

"She had a grimoire," Damon told her. "And it had a spell." 

~~~~

The first time that Damon had come here, Val had told him that a spell like that was dark, powerful magic, and it required the sacrifice of 12 humans. 

"A sacrifice?" I repeated. "You brought us here knowing that the spell required a human sacrifce?" 

"Well, I was hoping the recipe had changed," Damon told us. 

"Look, there's no magic like that here," Nandi told us. "I sell herbs and homeopathic remedies and dress it up with a little witchy-woo-woo for the tourists, but I don't practice." 

"okay, fine, listen, just tell us where we can find someone like your great-grandma who can break the sire bond and won't flake out on us like old Val did," Damon told her. 

"There's no one," Nandi told us. "All of her stuff is gone. The grimoires, her journals. We lost it all during Katrina. If a spell like that ever existed, it's gone for good." 

~~~~

Outside, we were walking the street. 

"Witch is lying," Damon told us. "Doesn't practice magic, my ass." 

"Human sacrifice?" I asked. "Did you really think I would go or this?" 

Charlotte was sitting on the steps of a building as we walked toward her. 

"Extreme circumstances call for extreme measures," Damon told me.

"Did you kill those 12 people in 1942?" I asked.

"Absolutely, I did," Damon answered. "And I'd do it again in a heartbeat if it meant a clean slate with Elena." 

"Hmm," Stefan hummed. 

"Are you gonna help me good cop/bad cop/human cop this witch or not?" Damon asked.

I gave him a look, looking away in annoyance.

~~~~

At Nandi's shop, Nandi was doing some work.

Damon walked into the shop from behind her. 

Nandi turned around to face him. "What are you doing here?" 

"Calling you out," Damon answered. "You're not Val's great-granddaughter. You're her daughter."

~~~~

"You're 80 years old," Damon told her. "You don't look a day over 50. You're a practicing witch."

Nandi was facing away from him now. "Get out of my store." 

"Give me what I want," Damon told her, walking toward her.

Nandi turned around, using her magic to give Damon the witch headache, making him fall to the floor, holding his head. "I gave you a chance to leave with your life." 

Stefan and I walked in from the back. 

"Wait, wait, wait, wait," I told her. 

"We don't want any trouble, okay?" Stefan asked. "We just--we just need your help. That's all."

"I told you there's no one here who can help you," Nandi told us. "The kind of magic my mother practiced, it's unnatural. Witches don't even call it magic. We call it Expression." 

Nandi closed her fist, making the spell stop. 

"Is that like black magic?" I asked. 

"Worse," Nandi told us. "Channeling the power of human sacrifices calls on darkness that can't exist on this plan without swallowing it whole." She looked at Damon. "She sold you a bill of goods about breaking the sire bond because she wanted access to that power and you gave it to her when you killed those 12 people." 

Stefan walked toward Damon.

Damon stood. "Are you saying there's no spell?"

"The bond can't be broken with magic," Nandi told us. "A vampire only bonds to her sire when she has feelings for him before she turns. Human feelings. Vampirism only heightens those emotions. You want her free? You have to set her free. Tell her to live her life without you and never think of you again, to stop caring about you, and then leave her. That's the only way about the sire bond." 

~~~~

The next day, Damon was setting Charlotte free in a bar, walking outside.

Stefan and I were waiting for him. I was sitting on the bench. Stefan leaned against the utility pole next to me. 

Damon walked toward us. 

I stood. "How'd it go?" 

"I set her free," Damon answered.

"Must've been hard," Stefan told him. "Doing the right thing, especially when it's not something you want to do."

"Get to the point, Stefan," Damon told him. "You don't think I'm gonna be able to do what I need to when I have to tell Elena to stay away from me."

"Well, I mean, selflessness isn't exactly one of your most obvious character traits, Damon," Stefan told him. 

"Yeah?" Damon asked. "Well, one of these days you're gonna realize you don't know me half as well as you think." 

Damon whistled, hailing for a cab.

~~~~

He told us about how he had arrived at the train station for the shipment out to the war, and how Lexi had stopped him from going, telling hm that he knew it was the right thing for Stefan. 

Damon walked past us toward the taxi. 

Stefan stared blankly at the ground for a moment.

I resisted the urge to sigh, turning and following Damon. 

Stefan followed us. "I didn't know about that." 

"Yeah, well, next time I'll hang a billboard," Damon told him.

"Look, I know it may seem like I'm being unfair about this, like I'm upset about losing Elena to you, and I am," Stefan told him. "But after all this is over, if she never feels the same way about me as she used to, at least it'll be her choice."

"The dreaded C-word," Damon told us. "I know what I have to do, Stefan." 

I pointed at either of them. "If either of you start a fight on the way back, I swear to God I'll kill you." 

"And become the vampire Hunter that you're supposed to be?" Damon asked.

"It'll be worth it to not have to sit through one of your guys' fights that will lead to a freaking death match," I told them, opening the passenger seat door of the taxi, climbing in.

Stefan and Damon exchanged a look.

Damon opened the back seat door, both of them getting inside. 

We were going home.