EDIT: Read below. If any comments from the first chapter are lost in the process, I do apologize. I just wanted to edit the fact that this is no longer a one shot.

This chapter started off as a one shot, but since I received sooo many emails and comments to continue this story, I decided to add a few more chapters to it.

This is my version of events that I'd really like to happen in episode2x12 and onwards.

Spoilers from 2x12 trailer – and a lot of smut in following chapters…. You have been warned :)

'Rose is out for the count', Damon said, with furrowed brow and a clenched jaw. He looked a bit disheveled in comparison to his usually kempt look.

Elena followed his movements as he grabbed his jacket from the back of the sofa she was sitting on. They were in the library of the boarding house after another sleepless night following the attack on Rose.

'Are you leaving now?'

'Yea, got some business to finish off in town.'

Elena didn't like the sound of that, it had an ominous feel to it, but she said nothing. Sometimes it was better not to ask when it came to Damon. She looked up towards the second floor where Rose was, tucked under the covers in Damon's bed.

The bite from the wolf had turned into quite an alarming wound, and the fever that Rose had caught had rendered her nearly unconscious.

'Don't worry, Elena. Rose won't be able to do anything right now. She's fast asleep. Just give her some blood when she wakes up. I've stocked the fridge in the cellar. I'll be back before you know it.'

Damon gave Elena a knowing look.

'I wouldn't leave her alone with you if I thought she was any danger to you.'

Elena nodded slowly.

'It's ok. Try to get back soon though. Just in case.'

Damon left her sitting on the sofa, trying to keep herself occupied while babysitting Damon's girlfriend. She let out an uncomfortable sigh. Was Rose really Damon's girlfriend now?

The way Damon had cared for Rose the last couple of days was so out of character it had made Elena a bit uneasy around him. Even Stefan had had a hard time trying to understand his brother's actions as well, since it wasn't really in his nature to care for anyone but himself. They were so used to seeing Damon's selfish and callous attitude, that observing him tending to Rose's every need had been somewhat of a heartbreaking experience for Elena.

Damon had been in the library for hours trying to go through any and every of the books that had been brought from Isobel's office at Duke. He'd called Alaric over to get help from Isobel's assistant, Vanessa. She had found a few bits of information, but not enough for it to be of any help to Rose.

In his desperation, Damon had even begged Bonnie for any spells that could help, but so far, nothing had come up.

Stefan had left early in the morning to go to Bonnie's with Caroline. They were going to try to scour the Grimoir for any clues they could get to an antidote for Rose. Elena was in awe with her friends, that they all pulled together to help Damon, someone who had hurt them all in more ways than one, on several different occasions. Even Bonnie, who hated Damon with a vengeance.

All for Rose – and none of them even really knew her.

But somehow Damon seemed to bring out the protective side in everyone. There was something so profoundly vulnerable in him, vulnerability that he usually only showed Elena, which had now extended to all of her friends as well. It astonished her to no end.

Elena was still pondering this when she heard a sound from upstairs. She stood up and walked down to the cellar where the brothers kept their stash of blood. She grabbed on bag, but changed her mind and took out another one before she closed the lid of the huge icebox and started upstairs.

Rose was trying to sit up as Elena entered the doors to Damon's bedroom. She had never been in his room before and she was a bit surprised at the neatness of it. He wasn't a very material person, she noticed, unlike his brother, who kept a clutter of memories in every corner of his bedroom.

Damon's room was dark and sultry, just like his personality, with smoky black furniture in heavy oak. There were few items scattered around, only a couple of books on a small table in the far corner, next to a well worn armchair. The whole room wore a trace of his scent. Elena tried her hardest not to take any notice of the stirring in the pit of her stomach at the thought of Damon in this room.

Deep purple drapes hung heavy in front of the windows in an attempt to protect Rose from any daylight. The room was clad in darkness, except for a bedside lamp that cast a soft glow on the pale vampire struggling to get into a sitting position in Damon's king size bed.

Elena hastily walked over to Rose and dropped the bags onto the black cotton sheets, before she grabbed Rose's arms and carefully lay her back down against the huge pillows.

'You shouldn't try to move too much, Rose. You need your rest. Damon is trying to find a cure for you and you need to keep well for him.'

Rose started saying something, but was stopped by a terrifying cough that shook her small frame. She lay back against the pillows again and closed her eyes.

'My throat is burning up, Elena', she said in a hoarse voice after the coughing attack had subsided.

Elena turned back to the blood bags and pinched one open with a short straw and held it up to Rose's lips. After only a few sips it was obvious that Rose was too weak to drink.

'You should try to get some more sleep, keep your strength. Damon should be back at any moment now.' Elena glanced over at the clock on the far wall, next to the door; Damon had been gone for well over an hour, and she was getting a bit anxious.

Rose opened her eyes slightly.

'Why are you here?' she murmured between ragged breaths. 'You don't even like me.'

Elena shook her head.

'Don't speak, Rose. Just try to sleep.'

'You're here because of him.' It was a statement, not a question. And no name was needed; they both knew who Rose was referring to.

'He's my friend.'

'I thought he'd lost all rights to be your friend?'

Rose started coughing again, but held her hand up when Elena tried to reach for her.

'Please, don't come too close. I smell the fresh blood in you; I wouldn't want to accidently hurt you.' Rose managed a small smile. 'Damon would kill me.'

Elena moved back a bit, but didn't leave the bedside. She had promised Damon to take care of Rose until he came back, and she wouldn't break another promise she had made him.

'Do you need any more blood?' she asked, trying to get out of this line of questioning that she didn't have any answers to. The whole situation made her feel very uncomfortable.

But Rose wasn't finished on the subject.

'No, I just need you to tell me the truth. When I die, will you make sure Damon is ok?' Rose's green eyes locked onto Elena's. 'Will you promise? He's not as strong as you might think. He's hurting a lot. And you're the closest thing to humanity he's got. If you let him go, when I die, he won't make it.'

There was sincerity in Rose's voice that cut deep into Elena. She didn't know what to say. The situation that they all found themselves in at the moment kind of took away the drama of who's being friends with who. They all had to stick together against Klaus and the Originals, or else they would all be dead. And since Damon had ruined the chance Elena had offering her life to Klaus, and with making the deal with Elijah… she had to protect them all somehow. Damon included. He was the brother of the person she loved. So that meant that Damon was family too, weather she liked him or not.

'I know you have feelings for Damon too', Rose said matter of factly, her eyes still on Elena's face. At this statement Elena started shaking her head in protest.

'I care about Damon, but I love Stefan.'

Rose was quiet for a short while. Then she lifted her hand to touch Elena's. Just one short touch, but so poignant.

'It's ok, you know, to love them both.'

Elena said nothing. She didn't want to start an argument with a dying vampire. Let alone a vampire dating the subject at hand.

'You're in love with Damon, aren't you?' she asked Rose instead.

Rose shook her head weakly.

'There is no love between Damon and me. We find comfort in each other because of the love we've both lost. We understand each other.' Rose closed her eyes again. 'Besides, Damon's heart already belongs with someone else. And it has for a long time.'

Elena nodded in understanding.

'I know. Katherine really messed him up.'

Rose started laughing. It was a dry cough of laughter.

'Elena, don't you get it? He gave his heart to you a long time ago. Katherine only tried to take it from him, she controlled him. But he never gave her anything, except time wasted.'

Rose turned her head away from Elena.

'I need some rest. All this talking is making me tired.'

Elena sat next to Rose for a long while after she had fallen asleep. There were so many thought s running through her head at the same time.

What made Rose think that Elena had any feelings for Damon? What made her think that Elena could stop Damon falling over the edge if he didn't want to be saved? He had shown her times again that he thought of no one but himself.

She stopped right there with her thoughts dwindling in her head. Did he not care for Rose? Wasn't he spending every waking moment trying to save her?

Damon was such an intricate being; there was no end to the depth of him. And the thought frightened Elena. And somewhere inside of her she could feel a new sort of excitement at this person Damon was slowly turning into. She had always thought him as shallow and cold, and here she still was, trying to figure him out.

Without trying to make a sound Elena walked out of Damon's room and headed to the kitchen. She made herself a cup of coffee and tried to reach Damon but it went straight to voice mail.

She flicked channels for an hour or so. To pass a bit more time, she went into the library. The brother's had really saved up on some books over the years. She was looking at a few of the titles to see if anything took her fancy. A few classics drew her attention, but she put them all back on the shelves.

There were no family photos anywhere, she knew that. But it also saddened her. The history of The Salvatore's was richer than she could even imagine. She had tried to ask Stefan about it on so many different occasions, but he was very reluctant to share his heritage with her. She always thought that with her knowledge of who they really were, he would start opening up, but he never had, and it annoyed her to no end.

Yet again, she tried to get a hold of Damon. Still no answer and she was starting to worry. He was such a danger to himself sometimes. He always went in head first. Her bet was that he was looking for Jules, the werewolf taking a chunk out of Rose. And Jules wasn't anything like Mason Lockwood. Jules was dangerous even when she wasn't in her other form.

Giving up after trying Damon's cell three times, she called Stefan up to see how they were doing. He picked up after the first ring.

'Are you ok?' he asked quickly. Somehow it annoyed her that he worried so much. It was a bit suffocating at times, as if she couldn't be trusted to take care of herself.

'I'm ok. Rose is fast asleep and Damon has gone out for a while. I just wanted to know how things are going for you. Getting closer to a spell that might work?'

'No, sorry. Since there aren't any spells against or for werewolves in the Grimoir we're at a dead end right now. But Bonnie is looking into some different options. She's thinking of asking Luka, her friend, to help. But that would mean letting him in on who we are, and I don't know if that's such a great idea. And I know for a fact that Damon wouldn't think so, and you know what his reaction would be. So, we're still searching.'

Before Elena could answer she could hear a small noise coming from upstairs.

'Look, I gotta go. Love you.'

Stefan was quiet for just a second.

'What's going on?'

'Rose is awake again. I'm gonna give her some blood. She's really weak though, I don't know how long she'll last. Stefan, I'm worried. And I'm worried about Damon. If something happens to her…'

'Just be careful, Elena', Stefan warned. 'We'll do everything we can.'

They hung up and Elena walked back upstairs and into Damon's room. The bed was empty. Elena looked around. She even had a look on the far side of the bed in case Rose had managed to fall to the floor and hurt herself, but she wasn't in Damon's room at all.

Elena walked over to the en suite bathroom and peaked inside, but there was no sign of Rose in there either. As she turned back around to walk out she noticed the bags of blood ripped to pieces and emptied.

Elena's heart sped up a little. She wasn't really comfortable with this situation. She called Damon's cell again. But still no answer.

She tried to sneak down the stairs, keeping an eye out around her, but there was no visible sign of her. It was still light outside, so she knew that Rose wouldn't have tried to walk off anywhere.

As she got downstairs she noticed that the door to the cellar was wide open.

Ever so slowly Elena inched her way down. She knew where she would find Rose and she tried to calm herself down by thinking that Rose was hungry and didn't want to worry Elena. But it rang false in her own ears and she held on to her cell tightly.

Again, she pressed speed dial for last called number, and with the phone to her ear she rounded the corner to the room which held the fridge. The sight that met her shocked her to the degree that she nearly dropped the phone to the floor.

Rose was sitting in a pile of blood with empty bags scattered around her. Her face was covered with the dark fluid and the predatory stare she gave Elena chilled her to the bone.

Elena started backing away slowly and turned around with a speed that surprised her as she ran up the stairs. All she could think of was that she needed to get outside.

She didn't see anything but could feel the draft as Rose sped past her and blocked the front door. Memories of Stefan and Damon warning her about the fact that vampires were all predators, living for the hunt even more than the actual kill, were loud echoes in her head.

Elena held her hands up, one still gripping the cell phone, towards Rose and carefully started backing away from her.

'Rose, it's me, Elena.' She pleaded with a killer who had its victim in sight. She knew that there wasn't much she could say to take Rose out of the instinct to hunt her down.

Pure evil emanated from Rose.

'You mean nothing to me', she hissed at Elena and hunched down before vamping out fully.

Elena turned and pounded up the stairs. She couldn't hear Rose behind her at first, until she heard a chilling giggle from the bottom of the stairs.

'You can run but you can't hide.' Elena's blood turned to ice as she ran into Stefan's room and slammed the door shut and locked it. She ran over to the windows to open all of the curtains. She was thanking all the gods that Stefan lived on the sunny side of the boarding house.

The pounding on the door grew stronger and stronger. Elena knew that the door would break down at any minute. She threw her cell on Stefan's bed and desperately looked around for any kind of weapon to use against the raging mad vampire on the other side of the door.

She saw the wooden chair next to Stefan's desk and silently hoped that this wasn't some sort of family heirloom. It looked old, but was really hard to break. She had to lay it down on the floor and repeatedly stomp on one of the legs until it finally broke, just in time for Rose to break through the door.

Rose's eyes were filled with a crazy sheen of excitement as she focused solely on Elena.

To Elena everything moved in slow motion. The room seemed to shrink in size with blurry edges around it. She started backing away towards the balcony and the large windows.

She knew that Rose wasn't stupid enough to walk straight into the sunlight, but she felt a small comfort in knowing that Rose wouldn't be able to get hold of her there either. Her heart was pounding hard and she was out of breath, not just from running up the stairs but she was terrified out of her wits.

Damon was nowhere to be found. Stefan wouldn't be back for hours. And Elena only had, what, another half hour until the sun would settle behind the woods. And Rose was a vampire used to waiting. She was patient.

True, she looked like she had lost her senses, but Rose was smart and she was a hunter with the skills. There was no way out. Nowhere to go. She knew it. Elena knew it.

Rose stared at her intently and moved closer, inch by inch as the shadows were cast further and further in the room.

'Please, Rose. Don't do this. Please.' Elena knew that this was the time to start begging for her life. Tears of frustration began to run along her cheeks. 'You don't want to do this.'

Rose laughed, and chills ran down Elena's spine.

'Oh, but I do.'

Elena stumbled slightly.

' I'm Elena. Your friend.'

She held the wooden leg out in front of her as a stake. Rose's eyes flickered towards it for only a second before focusing on Elena yet again.

'You're food. Easy as that.'

A cloud passed in front of the sun and Rose threw herself over Elena, dragging her into the corner of Stefan's room. Fangs bared and saliva flying around her open mouth that were inches from Elena's bare neck.

Everything that happened after was in a blur.

A huge crash and a dark growl came to the left of her. Roses' hands let go of Elena as quickly as she had grabbed her.

Dazed, Elena looked behind her from where she was lying on the floor. She could see Damon crouched over Rose with his right hand around her neck. In his left he held a stake as long as his forearm. Rose hissed at him and tried to get away from him, but his grip on her was like iron.

Dark veins started protruding on his face and his fangs elongated as Rose tried to break free from him. Elena suddenly remembered that Rose held hundreds of years on Damon, and she should be stronger than him. But maybe the werewolf bite made her weaker. Elena's brain was trying to grasp what was happening as Damon let out a feral growl. Rose was actually on the verge of breaking loose from his grip.

Elena started scrambling away from them further into the corner of the room. Damon scared her even more than Rose ever had. There was something so lethal about his whole being, her body started shaking violently, and as in a dream she could see him lift his stake above his head and run it through Rose's heart in one swift movement.

He hovered over Rose's body for a moment before his attention turned on Elena. His fangs were still out and his stare was cold and frightening. Slowly his features softened and he de-vamped.

Damon backed away from Rose with his hands held out in front of him. His eyes never left Elena's for even a moment as he little by little made his way closer to her.

'Elena', he said softly. 'I won't touch you, but I need to know if she hurt you.'

Elena barely managed to shake her head. Her eyes kept flickering towards Rose's dead body.

'Ok, Elena. I'm going to ask you to get out of here now. Just… go to my room and wait for me there.'

Damon stood up really slowly, letting Elena follow his every movement.

She nodded and tried to stand up. Damon reached out for her. At first she flinched, but she let him lead her across the hall to his room, where he sat her down on the bed.

She could hear him rummaging around Stefan's room. The noise slowly made its way towards the stairs and outside.

Elena tried to understand her own reaction. Elijah had tried to kill her. Trevor had tried to feed from her. She'd been threatened by Katherine and ambushed by strange vampires on several occasions. But she had never reacted as badly as she had seeing Damon vamp out.

There were footsteps in the hallway. Damon was on his way back. Elena wondered to herself what he had done about Rose's body. Had he buried her now? In the woods probably.

Damon walked into the room with an angry frown on his face.

'What did you do to her, Elena? She had been nothing but nice to you. She was dying and you had to go and antagonize her.' His eyes were blue fire on ice. They held her prisoner as her head tried to process what he was saying.

Did he think she had done something to Rose?

Damon took a step closer to the bed where Elena was sitting.

'Answer me. What did you do to her? Rose is dead, and don't you dare tell me you had nothing to do with it.'

His anger startled Elena, but not for long. He had left her with a vampire who was clearly not sane. She was suddenly furious with the whole situation. If Damon hadn't left her alone with Rose, none of this would have happened. And as Damon grabbed hold of her upper arms and lifted her off the bed, she could feel herself shaking with anger.

'You left me alone with her, Damon!' She shouted at him. Her hands were clenched to fists at her sides. Her pulse was throbbing so hard she could hardly breathe. 'And how dare you accuse me of hurting her or angering her. I gave her blood as you told me to and I let her sleep. All of a sudden she attacked me. How dare you?'

She started fighting his tight grip on her arms, but he refused to let go. She pressed her hands against his chest but he just held her closer to him. His hold on her arms was bruising her, but she barely noticed. Her frustration made her struggle harder. Her heart was hammering in her chest and her breathing was jagged.

'Let go of me, Damon!'

'No.' Damon's voice was cold and relentless. 'I'm not letting you go.'

Tears of anger threatened to show and for the first time she felt a twinge of fear.

'Damon, please. You're hurting me.' His grip didn't loosen and he kept pressing her against his chest. 'Let me go.'

'No.' His voice had gone quiet all of a sudden. It was a sigh against her temple.

She continued pushing her hands against him for a few more minutes, tiring herself out and without her knowing, his arms were around her in a tight embrace. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she buried her face against his shirt.

'You left me with her', she whispered.

'I know', he said softly. 'I'm sorry.'

She shook her head and looked up at him.

'So am I.'

She managed to get one of her arms free from within his hold to gently put her hand against his neck. Their eyes locked and for a moment time stood still.

Elena felt Damon's warm breath against her face. His eyes shone under heavy lids and his mouth was only inches from her lips. All she had to do was stand on her toes for them to touch. She licked her lips expectantly and his eyes followed the movement.

'Elena,' he whispered against her mouth. 'What are we doing?'

She inhaled shakily, not moving an inch. 'I don't know.'

Her heart stopped a beat and his lips were crashing down on hers in an instance. He leaned in as close as he could, tasting her. The sweetness of her mouth, the salt of her tears. He was forcing himself into her arms, but she had her hand locked against his neck, pulling him closer, keeping him steady. Her other hand was feeling its way around his back, grabbing hold of his shirt to hold herself up.

Kissing her was like coming up for air after being trapped under water. This was what Damon had been wishing for, longing for and dreaming about for such a long time.

He would never let her go now.

Their kiss deepened. His tongue massaged her while his hands buried themselves in her hair, pressing her hard against him. His thoughts were a tangle of confusion. Elena was in his arms, kissing him, forcing her tight body against his like there was no tomorrow. And maybe there wasn't. Sliding one hand down over her pert bottom, he thought, well screw it, if there's no tomorrow…

In response, Elena lifted her leg up and wrapped it around his waist. Damon let out a sigh of exasperation. He slowly moved his hand from her ass to grab her leg to hold it in place. He could feel the warmth of her core against his hardness and it nearly drove him crazy just thinking about how close he was. If he couldn't get her naked soon he'd go out of his mind.

He grabbed her other leg and held on to her as they stumbled over to the bed and he laid her down softly and hovered over her on his elbows. Their breath ragged and their lips sore from their rough kisses.

Damon trailed his tongue along the base of Elena's neck up to her soft earlobe which he grazed with his blunt teeth. She let out a sigh that grabbed him by the balls. He could feel the arousal all the way down to his toes. Even if he didn't need to breathe there was a tightness in his chest as her eyes locked onto his.

'If we do this, Elena. No regrets'. He could barely recognize his own voice. trace

She nodded.

Damon shook his head, nuzzling her bottom lip. 'No. You need to say it out loud. I need to hear you say it.' He continued kissing a trail along her jaw and down her neck, following her sumptuous vein that sang to him like a siren call.

Her breathing increased as he bit down lightly where the soft skin of her neck met her shoulder.

Her small hands sneaked under his shirt and traced the waist of his jeans. He pressed himself harder against her as she reached for the front of his jeans and unbuttoned the top button.

'Ah, Elena…' he sighed trying to get a grip on himself. 'You need to say it.'

She closed in on him and whispered in his ear.

'Damon, I promise. No regrets.'

Reviews are always welcome :)

Songs used:

All the right moves - One Republic

I hate everything about you - Three Days Grace

Paradise Circus - Massive Attack