Tyler may have ripped out Stefan's heart but he might as well have ripped out Damon's as well. It was Stefan's death but Damon's moment of weakness.

I guess you can call it a one-shot or missing scene. Just a simple show of emotion when Damon and Elena came home to find a dead Stefan on the sofa. Hope you like it.

Warnings- Slight Cussing

Disclaimer- I do not own The Vampire Diaries! If I did there would be ALOT more emotions coming from the brothers.

Watching From The Other Side

"I'm going to take care of you. Because that's My Job, right? Watching Out For my pain in the ass little brother?"

The light that shined through from the lit fireplace seemed a little dimmer than it usually did. The familiar crackle and pop was the same has it burned the wood that fed its rage but there was just something different in the air of the boarding house that did not fit right in the usual aura that surrounded it on a regular daily basis.

Damon stared into the red and orange flames in front of him. Somehow the fire always reminded him of his time back in the cells, when Dr. Whitmore captured him just so that he could be a part of some sick experiments. It was the first time he had actually let that part of him, the part that was still human, come out after meeting Enzo. As well as the first time he ever needed to flip off his humanity simply because he 'cared'.

Then he ran without a single glance back. He did not think once if Enzo had somehow escaped or did he care. Enzo had not once crossed his mind and when he showed up in mystic falls he honestly did not recognize the vampire but once he realized who it was all the memories came rushing back. For the first time Damon had felt guilty, regretful even, for leaving his old friend in the fire. Yet he pretended not to care.

Damon twirled the glass that rested in his hand. He continued to watch the fireplace.

He really hated fires.

Now that he thought about it it was like karma had it in for him for abandoning Enzo. Back when the Gilbert device was still active and he was thrown into that basement with the rest of the vampires. He was helpless and was unable to get himself out of such a harsh death as the fire grew from a small spark to raging flames within minutes. Death by fire seemed justified enough for his actions back then but then something surprised him.

Damon still was not able to move completely but he managed to raise until he was on his knees and his hands were in front of him on the hot concrete. It was like the fire had a mind of its own because the flames shrunk oddly enough and suddenly Stefan was at the bottom of the stairs with concern in those moss- green eyes and was at Damon's side in a flash of blur, helping him up and speeding them out of the building.

His brother always had a habit of 'saving him'. No matter how many times Damon repeated:

I don't want to be saved.

It was a broken chord that was not heard and Stefan ignored the plea to stop. It was the same verse everytime:

I did it to save you!

Damon closed his eyes tightly. There was a pain rising in his chest that he had not felt since he was human. A familiar instinct that never truly went away. No matter how much he tried to make everyone believe that he was a heartless bastard there was always truth that came with the lie. You could promise a hundred years of eternity of misery and it be the truth but a lie at the same time because anger and hate are not the same thing.

He was angry. Stefan took the choice of being immortal for him and forced him to drink to complete the transaction, ignoring Damon's protest of taking someone's life. It was easy to turn that anger into a hatred he thought he had for his little brother.

Damon could have smirked at the reversal of roles in that situation. Simply for the fact in that moment Damon was the one that refused to hurt the innocent and Stefan was the one that did not care. He would have smirked but he was drowning in his own sorrow.

Damon's gaze left the fireplace and went to rest on the couch behind him. On the motionless lump that was hidden by the red cover thrown over it.

Setting the glass of bourbon down on the table he raised up from the recliner and walked over to the couch.

Both Elena and Caroline both left hours ago after Damon refused to talk to either of them. Like usual Elena knew exactly what was on the older Salvatore's mind and knew he needed space. Caroline wanted to stay. Her tears still flowed as disbelief in what happened hit her hard. Only Damon did not care. The only thing he cared about at that moment was laying with his arms laid peacefully on his chest on the couch with a blanket covering him from sight that Damon himself had thrown over him.

The last family he had was dead.

Stefan was dead.

He stopped to stand in front of the couch. His hand reached out and gripped the end of the blanket. He was hesitant at first but slowly slid it down to reveal a grey skinned Stefan.

He pulled back and just stared.

Stefan's eyes were closed. His hair was a mess and his skin was no longer pale from being one of the un-dead but completely solid grey with darker grey veins from actually being completely dead: Lifeless and unmoving.

It was a sight that Damon never wanted to see.

His eyes went to the bloody hole in his chest where his heart use to be. His hands clenched into fists as anger started to surface. He would kill Tyler for killing Stefan. It did not matter that the werewolf was being possessed by a traveler and that Elena tried to convince him that it was not Tyler who killed Stefan. It was still Tyler's body. Tyler's hand that impaled Stefan and grabbed his heart then ripped it out of his chest.
It was still Tyler who killed his brother and he would pay.

With gentle hands Damon put one hand under Stefan's legs and the other under his arms. He lifted him up without difficulty. Stefan's arms fell limp along with his head that fell back at the movement.

Damon looked down at him blankly.

In the next instant they were in Stefan's room where Damon slowly walked over to the bed and put him down, being nothing but gentle. Stefan's head rolled to the side and back to the other.

Damon pulled the chair over to the bed and sat quietly. His elbows were against his knees as his hands covered his mouth but his eyes remained to the lifeless form of his brother.

"I'm the oldest. I'm suppose to die first Stefan." Damon's soft voice was met with silence. "I told you that if anyone was going to kill you it was going to be me. I don't like being proved a liar, brother."

Soft features in Damon's expression morphed into a sudden anger. "Open you're eyes Stefan!" He shouted.

The sound of the chair falling back at the force in which Damon shot to his feet was the only sound he heard. Not Stefan's.

"Dammit Stefan!" Damon twisted around and grabbed the chair.

With all his strength he slung it across the room and watched as it shattered into several pieces only to fall on the floor.

"Always the saint! Look where it got you! Dead and for what? To play hero!" Next to break under Damon's wrath was the book shelf as it toppled over.

Unknowingly to him, Stefan heard every word as he watched from the other side. Witnessing Damon's breakdown.

Stefan watched with sorrowful eyes. Wanting nothing more than to comfort Damon. He knew it was his fault. He knew the instant he took Tyler's attention off Caroline that it would be the last thing he did but he couldn't let her die either. It was a selfless act that ended in his life.

"How could you do this Stefan?!" Damon asked in a yell.

Lexi put her hand on Stefan's shoulder. "He'll be okay. We have to go."

Stefan looked at her and she could see the pain in his eyes. He didn't want to leave Damon as he was now but knew the damage was done and he nodded.

He gave one more glance at his now slumped brother who was no longer standing but down on his knees in defeat. He then noticed the tears rolling down Damon's face. With a sad smile he said, "I don't think I've seen him cry since we were human."

Lexi looked at Damon then back at Stefan. "He loves you Stefan. He doesn't always show it but he would die for you."

"I know. He may seem heartless but Damon cares. He just doesn't like to show emotion. He has Elena. So he'll be okay." Stefan closed his eyes at her words. He took a deep breath and opened them slowly and added, "Let's go."

Lexi took his hand and they disappeared but not before Stefan heard one last sentence from Damon.

"I'll bring you back Stefan. I swear it brother. I'll bring you back."