C1. I own nothing, just the plot. Not edited/Beta'd so bare with me. Lets see where my first plot bunny gets me.

Elena Rose Gilbert turned her head to the left and smiled at her baby brother, Jeremy Leonardo Gilbert. There was a year between the two, and although they argued like regular siblings, she'd never met anyone who was as close to their younger sibling as she was with Jeremy.

Jeremy grinned at her before he continued singing. Elena and her parents, Miranda and Grayson, loved hearing Jeremy sing. Elena always told him he had the voice of an angel. Elena turned back to look out her window. She jumped as thunder boomed and lightning flashed on the road in front of the moving car. Ever since she'd been a little girl, she'd been terrified of storms. Lighting and thunder alike.

"Daddy, watch out!"Elena screamed as she noticed that her father was heading straight towards the end of the bridge. The bridge that was above the Mystic Falls lake. Wickery bridge.

But she had warned him to late. The car slipped and slid across the road and into the lake. They just managed too scream before they plunged into the water, it all happened so fast.

Elena's eyes flew open, and she looked to her left at Jeremy who was looking right back at her. They turned their heads simultaneously to the front, trying to see through the dark water for their parents. The water was so cold, ice cold. Her limbs were trembling.

Elena made the mistake of opening her mouth in a silent cry. She had looked at her mother first, and then just as quickly wished she hadn't. The car had broken some wood of the bridge rail, and it slammed through the wind-shield and impaled her mother in the chest. She knew her mom was dead. She turned to look at her father, and yet again her mouth opened in a silent cry.

The seatbelt had come undone and her father was impaled on the open window. Blood from her parents were quickly mixing in with the water.

No! Elena screamed in her head. She looked at Jeremy to see his eyes open with a child-like expression of fear and sadness. Elena undone her seatbelt and reached for Jeremy's. She quickly undone his seatbelt and kicked as hard as she could at the door on her side. Jeremy swam quickly over to his sisters side and helped her in kicking the car door.

The door wouldn't budge. Save Jeremy, Save Jeremy, Save Jeremy. Elena repeated this as a mantra in her head.

Damon Connor Salvatore head her scream. He heard them all scream. But something about her scream in particular stirred something inside of him. A protective instinct. Damon set of in a run, allowing his tumblr to fall to the floor, his amber liquid staining his carpet. He followed the tugging urge of his un-beating heart. straight to the accident.

He stopped short of Wickery bridge, just seconds after he heard the screams that tore through him. He listened intensely to his surroundings, and for some odd reason, sighed in relief as he heard two sets of feet banging on the car door in the lake, attempting an escape only failing.

Damon was not a usually protective person. Nor was he normally helpful to strangers, but tonight? He didn't hesitate to jump into the lake, to save his mystery girl. Damon could feel her pain and fear before he saw her. Her eyes, her beautiful, life-like brown eyes, and those of her brothers widened in joy as they saw him. They started banging and kicking on the window almost desperately. He took sight of the two dead adults, and sighed. He ripped open the car door with vampire strength and gently wrapped and arm around the girl and her brother. Well, he hoped he was her brother.

He swam with speed to the bridge and jumped up pulling them with him. He let them go for a second, only to grab Elena as she made way to jump into the water again.

"What are you doing?"Damon and Jeremy asked incredulously.

"Mom and dad are down there!"She yelled, desperately trying to struggle from Damon's grip. Damon turned her around and looked into her eyes.

"I'll get them, but you need to stay up here OK? You nearly drowned, I promise to bring them up here to you, okay?"Damon followed his instinct and caressed her cheek with his thumbs. Elena took a deep, shuddering breath before nodding.

Damon quickly took of his jacket and wrapped it around Elena. He then proceeded to take of his Royal Blue sweater and handed it to Jeremy before diving back into the water.

"Do you think he's okay?"Elena and Jeremy asked each other in unison.

Elena looked at Jeremy, her bottom lip trembling as she took in the sight of her baby brother. She willed tears back and bit her bottom lip. "He's fine. I know it."She mumbled before taking Jeremy's hand and they watched the water for their mysterious savior.

Damon grabbed hold of the two adults and used his vampire speed, again, to get to the bridge. He could already tell the two were dead.

Elena was soaked. And freezing. Her blue jeans and black long-sleeved top was wet, her grey chucks were ruined, and to top it off, she was getting her mystery man's coat all wet. For some reason, she could feel his emotions. She knew they were not hers, and figured they were his when she felt and saw the relief he had once he saw her and Jeremy. She felt numb, so she told herself to worry about her saviors emotions another time.

Jeremy was soaked. He was too numb to feel the cold though. His black jeans and white button down shirt was soaked through, his black trainers are ruined and he realizes, in the logical part of his mind, that his iPhone 4s is lost in that hell called a lake.

Damon breaks through the water, breathing heavily and for some reason, clutching the two siblings parents protectively to his body. He places them on the bridge gently, before hopping onto the bridge himself.

"Momma?"Jeremy said quietly, slowly walking towards the now deceased Miranda Gilbert.

"Jer, no."Elena managed to mumble through the continuous tears.

"No, they can't be gone. The-they just can't."Jeremy cried, collapsing to the floor, sobbing. Damon felt tears prick his eyes for the first time in years. He didn't know these people, why was he so protective of them? He's never been protective, always cold-hearted and ruthless. And, he'd never cried before. Well, not since he'd been human.

"Jeremy,"Elena whispered hoarsely. She made to walk towards him, but he just backed away from her. Elena, looked up and her eyes caught Damon's. "Help him, please?"She mouthed to this mysterious man. Her savior.

Damon swallowed thickly, nodding. He made his way over to Jeremy, as he know knew him, and lightly laid a hand on his shoulder. His hand shook with the force of Jeremy's sobs. Damon crouched to the floor, in yet another random act of kindness and pulled Jeremy to him.

Jeremy registered his sisters footsteps coming towards him. He didn't want to be comforted. She needed comfort too, and he would just hurt her more. He felt a gentle, soothing hand touch his shoulder, and instantly knew who it was. He sobbed harder. Their savior crouched in front of him and pulled him into a hug. Jeremy clung to Damon's wet shirt and sobbed into his chest as Damon soothingly patted his back and shushed him.

Elena finally let loose a sob as she took in the sight before her. A man she'd only just met, a man who saved her and her baby brother from death, a man who gotten her parents bodies from the water, risking his life for two strangers, was comforting Jeremy. And Jeremy was letting him. Damon's eyes locked with hers over Jeremy's head, and as he watched the tears trail down her rosy cheeks he beckoned her with his hand.

When Elena ran to her brother and her savior, he pulled her into the hug he was sharing with Jeremy. Elena finally let go and sobbed hard and heavy into the man's chest, feeling peace, safety and security. Something she knew she needed. She felt safe cocooned in her brother and savior's embrace.

Damon swallowed again, and willed his eyes dry. He shushed the two teenagers as they cried into his chest, somehow he knew saying something, anything wouldn't help.

It was finally 10 minutes later when the teenagers stopped crying. "Thank you, um.."Elena trailed of, realizing for the first time for the last hour or so she didn't know her savior's name.

"Damon."Damon told her. Elena smiled, a small genuine smile. Somehow, she knew he was exactly what she needed right now, and that he was different.

"I'm Elena, this is Jeremy. He's my little brother. That's my mom and dad, Miranda and Grayson."He voice broke twice. On the name of her parents. Damon let go of Jeremy and Elena, but they each clung to his hands like small children.

Damon released Jeremy's hand and wrapped and arm around his shoulders, pulling him into a one arm hug. He finally felt Jeremy relax. Elena rubbed circles on Damon's hand nervously.

My parents are dead. I know that Jeremy and I need to be checked out. Damon would have to call for an ambulance.

"I need too-"Damon started, but Elena cut him off.

She took a deep breath, "I know. Do it."She, yet again, willed her eyes dry. She's had her breakdown, now she needs to be strong for Jeremy. Elena released Damon's hand and let him reach for the phone in his jacket which was on her.

"991, what is your emergency."Elena and Jeremy could hear the dispatch lady from their places next to Damon.

"Uh, hello. My names Damon Salvatore, and two- uh- my two friends and their parents were just involved in a crash. Their car crashed into Wickery bridge lake. My friends are OK, but their parents are dead."His breath hitched in unison with Elena and Jeremy's. He already felt a strange connection too the siblings, now he was upset over some random strangers death? What was happening to him?

"Okay sir, we'll send two ambulances to your destination, what is the first and last name of the deceased and your friends?"

"Gilbert."Jeremy supplied, hearing the lady again.

Damon nodded and smiled lightly at Jeremy who was still tucked into his side. "The deceased are called Miranda and Grayson Gilbert, and my friends are Elena and Jeremy Gilbert."

"Okay. The ambulance should be with you within the next 5 minutes. Thank you."They hung up.

Elena stared wordlessly at her parents bodies, before asking Damon too move them away from the bodies.

"My last name is Salvatore, by the way. Since I know your last name, you both might as well know mine, hey."He nudged them both, trying to get a smile from them. He knew it was a long shot, but it worked. He was rewarded with a snort and a small genuine smile from Elena and a small grin from Jeremy.

They sat down against a tree in a circle, so Jeremy and Elena didn't have too see their parents. They all sat in silence, Elena was playing with Damon's fingers while Jeremy had laid his head in her lap and was talking quietly too Damon about what his parents were like, what the family was like.

They sat their for about two minutes just trying to act normal, although they all knew things were far from normal. All for different reasons. Their heads snapped up in the direction they heard the sirens, and they raced over to the ambulances that were just arriving.

Two paramedics had bagged the Gilbert parents up and into one ambulance before driving away. The other had two paramedics checking over Jeremy and Elena. Jeremy had been fine to go by himself, but Elena, for some strange reason panicked and clasped Damon's hand tightly in her own and yanked him with her.

"Your vitals look fine, miss Gilbert. I am very sorry for your loss."One of the medics said after they finished their evaluation on her. Elena nodded numbly, the only thing she felt at the moment was Damon's steady hand intertwined with hers.

Once everyone had gone, Elena and Jeremy realized they had no way of getting home. For an odd reason, the both looked at Damon expectantly.

Damon sighed quietly. He knew he'd just become the safe guard, the protector of these two teenagers. And for some reason, he didn't mind. What was happening to him? He was continuously asking himself as he lead Jeremy and Elena too his car.

"You two can stay at my boarding house for a while, if you'd like?"He'd asked the teens, though his attention was focused more on Elena. Almost on instinct, he tensed when she shuffled, ready and willing to fight anything and everything to save her. Jeremy too obviously, but more-so Elena. He'd never felt like this before, it was strange. A new emotion he had to figure out.

"Please, Damon."Elena answered for herself and her brother. She smiled at him and kissed his cheek before her, Jeremy and Damon got in the car.

"Okay."Damon said dazedly, starting the car for the drive home.

The teens where listening to Damon's music and chatting, doing anything humanly possible to take their minds off of their parents untimely death.

"Were here."Damon murmured to the two teens he'd been growing to like, stopping the car in front of the boarding house.

"whoa." the two mumbled.

Not a fan of summaries, explanations, or disclaimers. But I did a disclaimer, and that disclaimer goes for the entire story if I carry it on.

PM/Review if you like and would like me to carry on, thought I'd do a different take on Damon/Elena meeting, and threw in Wickery bridge/Death/and Jeremy.

R&R )