There was a knock at the door that interrupted the stillness of the Gilbert house. No one moved so much as an inch to go answer it until Caroline took it upon herself to go see who it was. She rushed to the door and pulled it open.

"Where is she?" Stefan asked urgently as he walked right past her and into the foyer.

"Stefan, wait," Caroline began as she turned to face him before he got any further into the house.

The look on his face told her that he wasn't in the mood for waiting. "Is she upstairs?"

Caroline didn't want to be totally dishonest. The truth was that Elena was upstairs, just like she had been for the past two days. She never emerged from the enclosed space those four walls gave her. "Listen, Stefan—"

"You told me that she needed someone to talk to her," he interjected before she could finish.

"I know."

"Then what are all of you doing, sitting around here?" Stefan motioned into the kitchen where Matt and Bonnie were standing by the island counter. Neither of them said a word, instead finding that looking down at the floor was much better. No one wanted to be the one to tell Stefan what Elena had really said.

Caroline took a careful step forward, wary of Stefan because of his anger. "She doesn't want to talk to any of us. We've all tried. Believe me, we've tried. She wants to talk to someone, though. She really does."

"Fine, then she'll have to talk to me." In one swift motion he moved past Caroline and began walking up the stairs.

"Stefan!" Caroline nearly shouted before he got close to the top.

He turned around, agitation shining in his chiseled features. "What now, Caroline?"
"Elena doesn't want to talk to you," she blurted out, not sparing his feelings. She was hoping that he would have taken the hint so she didn't have to be so blunt, but he was so stubborn when it came to Elena. She was his blind spot, and even though they broke up, that didn't change.

Caroline's words changed his demeanor. His determined stride immediately disappeared. His hands dropped to his sides with defeat. The look in his eyes transformed into a deep pain as he realized what Caroline truly meant.

"She wants to talk to Damon," he stated with anguish. It was like the words made everything more real to him. Caroline watched as it all began to click into place in Stefan's head. It was Damon she wanted, Damon she needed.

As if on cue, Damon walked through the threshold of the door Caroline had left open. He glanced around at everyone. He nodded once, clearly understanding what had occurred.

A moment of awkwardness passed before Damon finally broke the silence. He stepped onto the staircase landing. "Sorry, little brother," he said to Stefan before climbing the stairs, and to Caroline's surprise, it actually sounded sincere.

Damon gently knocked on Elena's closed door. He waited a brief moment in which he got no response. He tried again, this time saying, "Elena, open up. It's me."

He could hear movement on the side of the locked door. Finally the lock on the door clicked and Elena pulled it open.

For a moment the two of them just stared at each other, their silence speaking volumes. Damon could simply tell what Elena was feeling just by looking at her. Her hair was disheveled, her eyes red and puffy from crying. All of the pain in the world was reflected in them.

"Elena," he said softly as he stepped forward and gingerly embraced her. He could feel her arms gripping him as if hugging him would take away all the pain. Her body convulsed in his arms, and the sound of her sobbing filled the silence.

He comfortingly rubbed the back of her soft brown hair with his thumb. He wanted to say so much to her. He wanted to tell her that he loved her, that everything would be all right, despite the fact that they both knew it wouldn't be. He decided that the best form of comfort he could offer her was just being there and holding her, so that was what he did.

"He was all I had left," Elena muttered through her tears.

"I know," Damon said, knowing that it was better that she just talk it out.

"Everything I did was because of Jeremy."

"I know."

"I don't know how to go on without him."
"I know."

Elena pulled back slightly and looked up at him. Her face was stained with tears, and her lip quivered as she whispered in a broken voice, "Damon, what do I do?"

Damon smiled sympathetically with that half-smile that was always on his face. "I wish I knew, Elena. I wish I knew how to make the pain go away."

"Would you stay with me tonight so I'm not alone? It's so quiet without Jeremy."

Damon thought back to the people he had seen when he first walked into the house. All of Elena's closest friends were there, and yet all she wanted was him to be there with her. As much as he enjoyed the fact that Elena chose him—wanted him—he wished it didn't have to be under these circumstances. He didn't want her to be in pain like that, even if it meant that it would give them some time alone together.

But Elena wanted his company, and he knew he'd do anything for that girl in the blink of an eye.