Lucy sat on the sofa in Ric's apartment drinking a blood bag as she watched Nik feed Stefan bag after bag. Stefan stuck to the bunny diet so he didn't turn ripper but this was the price for the cure for Damon. She hated it, but it was between the two of them.

Stefan shifted his gaze between her and Niklaus. "Why did you do it?" His voice was rough, broken

She frowned, not liking when he was upset. "Why did he do what, Stefan?"

Nik's gaze shot to her before settling back on the Salvatore. The hybrid tilted his head and clicked his tongue. "I wouldn't if I were you, mate. Might make things messy."

Stefan looked torn, but kept his mouth shut. Nik held out another bag of blood. "Stay here and live your life, or embrace what you truly are and come with me. Ten years and you save your brother. What's ten years in the life of a vampire, Ripper?"

Lucy chewed at her lip. This whole thing didn't feel right. Stefan didn't want this. Sure, Damon needed Nik's blood but surely there were other ways to get it. Other things he would negotiate for. As if sensing her unease, Nik turned to her with a smile. "Don't worry about any of this, love. Everything will work out just as it's meant to."

He was right. She worried too much. Stefan could make his own choices. Which he did when he snatched another bag of blood from Nik's hand and ripped the top off before squeezing the contents down his throat.

"Do me a favor, love. Take some of my blood to Damon so he can get over that pesky bite while I talk to our friend here. He's going on a little trip with us."

"If we're going on a trip, shouldn't I pack?"

Nik smiled at her. "Don't waste the time. We'll buy what we need on the road."

She nodded and watched as he drained some of his blood into a bottle. He put a stopper in the top and held it out to her, pulling it back as she reached for it. "Now listen, sweetheart. You do whatever you need to return to me, yeah? If Damon tries to stop you, you tell him that I will kill his brother if you aren't back here within the hour."

Her eyes darted between her love and her friend. "You wouldn't really kill Stefan would you?"

"If that's what it took to get my girl back? Absolutely." He laid a hand against her cheek. "Make sure you give Damon my regards before you come back to me, all right? Oh, and before I forget it's best to leave Elijah daggered for now. I'm afraid he wouldn't agree with some of my plans."

She nodded and held her hand out for the bottle. He laid it across her palm with a smile. "I'd hurry, love. I doubt he has much time left."

***

Lucy sped to the boarding house and let herself in. She listened and heard a soft murmur of voices coming from Damon's room. She leaned against the door frame and watched Elena give Damon a soft kiss. A pang of jealousy made Lucy frown. She shouldn't care who Damon kissed. She had Nik after all. He jerked his face away from Elena. "You're not Lucy."

"Yeah, well Lucy's not here, is she?" Elena said sounding bitter.

"Actually I am," Lucy spoke up. "I see Elijah's elixir worked. Why are you here?"

The girl snapped around, her eyes wide in surprise. "Caroline's out looking for you and Stefan. She asked me to stay with him."

"Lucy?" Damon sounded just this side of dead.

She moved over to the bed and smiled at him. "I'm here, Damon. I brought Nik's blood." She opened the bottle and poured the thick liquid into Damon's mouth. It only took a minute for him to start looking better.

His hands grasped her arms. "Where in the hell have you been?" His blue eyes studied her, making her feel uncomfortable. Guilty.

She stepped back, pulling her arms from his still weak grip. "I was with Nik. Where else would I be?"

"Nik?" Elena asked from behind her. "You mean Klaus."

Lucy nodded.

"Why did you call him that?"

Lucy arched a brow and looked her over. "What business is it of yours what I call my boyfriend?"

Damon struggled to sit up in the bed. "What did you just say?"

Her brow furrowed. "What?"

He stood slowly and she automatically reached out a hand to steady him. He looked better than he did when she arrived but not great. He frowned, looking at her like something was wrong with her. "This is a joke, right? Because you saw Elena kissing me. That wasn't what it looked like."

Elena scoffed and Lucy ignored her. "Why should I care what you do or who you do it with, Damon. As long as you're happy."

"You're what makes me happy, Lucy. Just you."

Her cheeks flushed. "I'm sorry, Damon. You're a great friend, but I love Nik."

His eyes went wide and stepped closer to her. He grasped her hand in his and lifted it to his lips, his eyes staying locked with hers. She tilted her head as she tried to figure out what he was doing. He turned her hand and quickly bit her wrist before drawing away with a hiss. "No vervain. Son of a bitch. He compelled you."

Lucy sighed. "Don't be ridiculous, Damon. He wouldn't do that. I won't tell him you bit me. That would only piss him off."

"If you love him, why do you care if I piss him off?"

She frowned. "You're still my friend. Just because I don't love you doesn't mean I don't care about you."

His eyes slipped closed and he grimaced.

"Are you okay? Does the bite hurt?"

"The bite's fine, baby." He raked a hand through his hair. "Where's Elijah?"

"He's daggered for right now. It's for the best," she answered without thought.

Damon dropped his hands on her shoulders and gave her a little shake. "Listen to yourself, Lucy. Does any of this sound like you? Snap out of it."

She stepped out from under his hands. "Stop it, Damon. Just stop."

"Where is Stefan?" Elena asked.

Lucy's eyes darted to the girl. "He's going on a trip with me and Nik. It was the payment for the cure."

A muscle twitched in Damon's jaw. "A trip? Like hell. You're not going anywhere, Luce. Not until I fix this." He reached for her again and she twisted away from him.

"There's nothing to fix. I had a certain amount of time to bring you the cure and get back. If I don't, he'll kill Stefan."

His hand dropped and tears pooled in his eyes. "And this is who you love? Come on, Lucy. Fight this."

She shook her head again and took another step away from him. He sounded so upset. It hurt her heart. "I have to go. I need to leave right now."

She paused in the doorway to find Elena looking confused and Damon utterly lost. She needed to get back to Nik. She was afraid if she stayed any longer, she wouldn't leave. That didn't seem right but she shoved the thought away and gave Damon a small smile. "Nik wanted me to be sure to give you his regards before I left."

With that, she turned and sped away from the room. As she reached the front door of the boarding house she heard Damon release a yell of pure anger and anguish. The sound tore through her but she forced herself not to turn around. She had somewhere she needed to be.

***

Months passed as they traveled from one side of the country to the other chasing rumors of wolfpacks. Lucy only aided on the periphery, Nik not wanting to endanger her in anyway. It was sweet in a way. He was always very sweet to her and truth be told, she was getting rather tired of it. They shared a bed, but Stefan was always in the same room with them. They cuddled but Nik wouldn't even kiss her on the lips anymore. It certainly wasn't the way she ever expected the Original hybrid to act.

She forced the thoughts from her head and focused on a blonde woman as she stepped from her house and called for her dog.

"Hey, hi," Lucy called as she stepped from the shadows and walked across the yard. "Man, am I glad to see you. I got in a fight with my boyfriend a couple of miles back and he kicked me out of the car. I don't even know where I am and yours is the first house I've came to. Can I use your phone?"

"Don't you have a cell phone?"

"It's in the car along with my purse. Asshole."

The girl frowned but nodded. "All right. Stay here. I'll bring the phone to you."

"I'd hoped to come in for a minute," Lucy countered.

The woman immediately shook her head in denial.

Nik stepped into view. "I thought you country folk were supposed to be more trusting."

She took a step back and looked between the two vampires. "I'm from Florida."

"Well, that explains it," Nik said before grabbing the woman by her throat. "Now how about you show me a little southern hospitality, sweet pea." He glanced over at Lucy. "You wait in the car, sweetheart. I'll be along shortly."

Lucy nodded feeling uneasy at leaving the woman to suffer whatever Nik had planned but she brushed it off. He knew what was best.

Shortly after the screaming began, Nik returned to the car. "Hello, Love." He grinned as he slid behind the wheel.

Lucy slid closer to him, wishing she could just shut the screaming out. He looped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer before pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"We're going to have to make another stop. I believe I've finally found my wolf."

She smiled up at him. "That's great." Nerves fluttered in her belly but she sucked in a breath to steel herself. "I wanted to ask you something."

When she didn't immediately continue, he placed a hand under her chin and lifted it so he could meet her gaze. "What is it, sweetheart?"

She laid her hand against the side of his face. "Next time we stop at a hotel can we get our own room? You know, so we can have some privacy?"

Nik sighed and pulled away from her. "I've told you before I respect you too much to simply bed you. We have all the time in the world. Be patient, love."

A voice inside of her screamed that he was lying. That nothing he said was the truth. "So marry me."

He turned to her with wide eyes, looking a little pale. "What?"

"If it's about respect, marry me first. I love you, you love me. Why wait?"

"You don't want that, Lucy. Not really." He grabbed her hand and ran his thumb over the back of it. "We'll discuss this after I find my wolves."

She turned from him to stare out the window. There was something going on with him and Lucy didn't like it. Instead of their relationship becoming more intimate, it seemed to be heading in the opposite direction. Hugs and forehead kisses weren't exactly her idea of a good time. It was almost as if he was falling out of love with her.

***

Damon glanced up at the house as Lexi pulled to a stop. Another lead, another likely dead end, but he had to try. His phone rang and he declined the call when he saw Caroline's name. Caroline wanted to find Stefan but so far, she'd been following his lead. Neither Stefan nor Lucy would ever forgive him if something happened to the blonde. He'd been doing his best to keep her distracted. He'd even encouraged her to throw Elena a birthday party at the house. He groaned at the reminder. Just what he wanted, a house full of teenagers. All Damon wanted to do was find Lucy. If he found Stefan with her, even better.

"It's quiet," Lexi said and Damon glanced at her.

He agreed with a nod and headed for the house. Once he opened the door and could step over the threshold, he knew everyone was dead. If he hadn't already realized, the blood splashed across the walls and floor would have been a fairly decent indicator.

They found the girls sitting on the couch, dead and pieced back together. This had his brother written all over it.

"Stefan for sure," Lexi said.

"Stefan for sure," Damon repeated.

"Lucy?"

He shook his head. "Never. Not like this."

"She's under Klaus's control, Damon. You don't know what he's made her do."

Damon nudged one of the bodies with his foot and the head rolled off onto the floor. He swallowed past the lump in his throat knowing the other vampire was right but still refusing to believe his girl had anything to do with this.

***

Lucy sat outside the bar not wanting to watch Stefan torture the werewolf. After a while, she wandered inside looking for Nik to check in only to see him talking a brunette. Lucy frowned and stayed back, listening to the conversation as Stefan approached the hybrid.

"My brother is still following us?" he asked.

Nik nodded. "And getting closer. I'm going to have to do something about that."

"You know it's not me he's after. Send her home and she can get him to back off."

Lucy frowned.

"And why would I do that, Stefan? I am so fond of her company, after all."

"Damn it, Klaus. Just let her go. I'll stay. You saved my brother. I owe you, but let her go," Stefan pled with a fleeting glance in Lucy's direction. She took the hint and went back outside before Nik realized she'd heard any of the conversation.

She wandered around the edge of the parking lot, her arms wrapped around herself. Footsteps came up behind her and she knew who it was without turning. "What's going on, Stefan? What am I missing?"

She turned to her friend when he didn't answer to find him studying her. Finally, he shook his head. "I can't tell you anything, Lucy. Not now. I'm going to have a talk with Damon. I'll be back."

She gave him a hug. "Be careful, Stefan."

He kissed her temple. "You, too."

***

"Stefan?" Damon called softly as he searched the warehouse where his brother had texted him to meet.

"Hey, Damon." Stefan stepped out of the shadows.

"Man is it good to see you, baby bro." He glanced around knowing it was unlikely, but hoping to see Lucy.

"She's not here, Damon. She's with Klaus."

Damon sighed and raked a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I figured."

"Look, I know you're worried about her. About both of us. But you've got to stop trying to find us. If you don't, Klaus will kill you. I'm keeping an eye on her. Just...trust me to bring her back to you."

"It's not you I don't trust, Stef. Where's Elijah?"

"Still daggered."

"Shit." Damon paced the floor before looking back to his brother. "I won't let him just keep her. I can't. I love her."

"I know you do. The thing is, I think he does, too." Stefan grimaced.

Damon's heart dropped. "What?" His voice was little more than a whisper.

Stefan shook his head. "I don't think it started that way. He wanted to punish her at first. To make her pay for her betrayal. But now... He protects her. He sends her away so she doesn't see anything violent. He hasn't slept with her. He won't even kiss her, Damon."

"Well, that's one less thing to have nightmares about."

"Look, if things keep going the way they are, he'll let her go soon. Until then, I'll keep an eye on her."

He nodded and handed an envelope to Stefan. "If you have a chance and think she won't blab to Klaus, give her that. I can back off for a while, but I can't make any promises for Caroline or Lexi."

Stefan put the envelope away. "Do what you can. I can't control Klaus. I can only do my best to distract him."