Both Elena and Alaric are still panting whilst their sat in the front of the truck they made their way to the Smokey Mountains in. They haven't spoken much since they got back in to the car – Ric is too focused on how his hand is still burning from her touch to speak. She held my hand... MY hand.

Alaric has been having these ridiculous and completely insane thoughts for about a month now. Every little thing Elena does seems to light a fire inside of him. Her touch, her chocolate brown eyes, her laugh, her compassion, her determination... The one thing that is beginning to wear his patience thin is the fact that: A) she has him wrapped around her little finger enough to get him to do exactly what she wants him to do – like coming to the Smokey Mountains to search for a Werewolf pack on the night of a full moon. B) She is still technically with Stefan and she obviously has some sort of feelings for his best friend, Damon. And C) She is his History student and his dead girlfriend's niece.

"Stefan's out there somewhere and now Damon and we're just sitting in this car?" Elena asks in disgust whilst she continues to stare out of her window for any sign of Damon returning. After taunting the strange Hybrid with a 'here, doggie doggie!' he ran off and neither of them has seen him since. They ran after that... Hand-in-hand. Ric's mood is dragged down once more. Every time Elena seems to give him hope she finds a way to crush it back down in to nothingness again.

"Let the Vampire's fight the Hybrid-zombie-mountain-man..." He glances at her before looking straight forward. "I'll take care of keeping the humans safe."

She turns away from the window to look at him, "I thought you were 'checked out' of taking care of people..." She raises her eyebrows at him.

He looks at her... And is stunned by how beautiful she looks under the moonlight. Her hair is so sexy when it is wavy and that look in her eyes... Her expression is irritating but she looks beautiful.

"I know what you are doing," he says after an immeasurable moment of eye contact... deep brown on blue; Damnit, she's too much... "Don't. There does not need to be a lesson here."

"You are better at it then you think, you know?" She replies simply.

"Boy, are you a sucker for a lost cause or what?" He asks sarcastically. What does she want from me? Whatever it is I just can't give her it... I cannot BE what she WANTS me to be...

"You're not a lost cause, Ric... You're just lost." She watches him sadly as he looks down at his knees; disbelieving her. "But so is Jeremy... And so am I. Our family is gone; we don't have anybody and I'm sorry but you don't have anybody either so..."

"Elena, please." He chokes, "I know you want me to be your guardian but I just... I just can't do it. I say the wrong thing; I do the wrong things-"

"Stop saying that! You seem to think you're a bad person but you're not, okay! You are amazing, Ric! You have been the best teacher and the strongest man I have ever met. You have been through as much as I have and Jeremy has but you're still here... Still fighting." She looks down at the hand on his lap and pulls it in to hers, "we're all still fighting. If we were lost causes then we wouldn't be here right now."

He turns his head to the side and leans his head closer to her so his blue eyes are looking up through his lashes and sparkling in a way that Elena should not be hypnotised by. He slowly slips his hand out of hers and takes both of her hands in to his – watching her expression the whole time. Her full lips have parted slightly and she looks like she is admiring him... She is yet to push him away. The moment that she looks like she is uncomfortable I will stop.

"Elena... I can't be what you want me to be. Damon... Damon has pulled himself together; he is stronger than me. He can take care of you without... Doing what I want to do."

"W-what do you mean?" She asks as confusion shows in her expression. He stares at her parted lips for a moment before darting his tongue out to wet his own.

"Elena... I... I can't."

He pulls his hands back and hangs his head in them whilst he internally debates with what is feels right and what is wrong. I can't do this... This is wrong! I can't do it... I can't DO IT!

"Ric, whatever it is it's going to be okay..." She reaches over and rests her cheek on his shoulder. "You don't have to do anything."

"That's just it!" he yells, pushing her off of him. "Elena you have me wrapped around your little finger and you know it! You're saying that to get me to tell you what is wrong with me! I'm compelled by you just like you know that Stefan and Damon and Matt and every other guy in Mystic Falls are compelled by you and I can't do this! I just... I need to..."

He grabs her face and before she knows it Alaric's soft, warm lips are crashing down on hers. He is far from gentle – his tongue pushes through her lips immediately and he moans gently at the taste. Elena is so shocked by this... But she knew he would snap eventually. She knows that she has been stepping in to unknown waters whilst using her inconspicuous flirting techniques to get Alaric to do what she wants. She fights him off, though; reminding herself that he is a teacher and that he could get in to a lot of trouble for this.

"Ric!" She yells against his lips, grabbing his face and pushing him back. "RIC! You can't do this! You'll get in trouble... The police, your job!"

"Do you think I haven't thought about all that!" He pants heavily – his warm breath hitting her face every time he breathes out. His scent is intoxicating her... Clouding her mind just like she has been clouding his for so long now. "I don't care, Elena. I just don't care anymore... Just let me feel something. Please just one minute... Just let me feel something..."

And then she is kissing him. She pushes her lips to his in a passionate, fiery kiss that sends his head reeling. He grabs her waist and allows his hands to settle on the bare skin of her waist and pulls her as tight to himself as possible. Her tongue snakes its way in to his mouth and both of them decide to just enjoy the moment while it lasts – kiss, bite, touch, taste and feel. Their minds become blank but their emotions are on fire: raw passion and raw lust controls and exhilarates them.

They feel alive, again.

When breathe comes in to play Ric tugs his lips off of hers and both gasp desperately as if they have been kept under water for minutes on end. They keep their eyes on each other and just sit listening to their own heartbeats beat heavily in their chests and thud dully in their ears along with their desperate gasps for air. Elena falls back in to her seat and Ric leans his forehead against the cold window in an attempt to cool himself down.

"That shouldn't have happened," he says quietly once he comes back to Earth. "You're dating Stefan and you're my student... Oh, God! And Damon!"

"Ric!" Elena shouts as his eyes go glassy and distant. He looks down at her as she shakes her head, "stop that. I kissed you. You needed that... To be honest we both needed that."

Ric nods but does not feel so sure... He takes a deep, shaky breath and sighs. They go back to the silence and get lost in their own thoughts. Ric thinks about what Elena said – they have no one and he has no one... He lifts his hand with the ring and glances over at Elena with a half-smile. After that he feels confident again... And suddenly Elena does not seem to be making him feel like a hormonal teenage boy, anymore. She is just Elena – sweet, kind and caring Elena who is determined to find her Vampire boyfriend. She is no longer the woman who was sending him wild... Just his girlfriend's niece who he feels a strong need to protect; he feels like he needs to protect both her and Jeremy.

"If I'm checking back in again I'm keeping the ring," he murmurs as their eyes meet once more. Elena looks down at the ring and then back up again – when she realizes what he is saying a huge smile lights up her face.

"Thank you, Ric."