This story takes place right where the season finale ends. Only difference is that Jeremy did not see any ghosts of girlfriends past. I don't own TVD, I just love me some Damon Salvatore!

Chapter 1:

As soon as Elena was sure that Damon was okay, she grabbed her keys and headed out of the house, determined to go find Stefan and see for herself if Katherine was telling the truth. Damon stopped her before she could get to the front door.

"Elena, you can't just go running off after him. If he is on human blood, he will not be able to stop himself from hurting you, which will hurt him once he realizes what he's done." He tried to reason with her, knowing it was pointless but needing to try just the same.

"I have to Damon. If I can just talk to him, I can convince him that you are okay and he can come back to us. He won't go back to killing humans, he hated being that person. I know him, I know he won't do it if he can just see me and know that I'll help him. We can lock him up in the basement again and wean him off of it!" Elena yelled in a panic. She knew every minute he was on human blood, the harder it would be to get him back to normal.

Damon could see that she was going to do this with or without him, so he let out a sigh and then grabbed the keys from her. She began to protest, thinking he was trying to stop her, but then he said "If you are bound and determined to go after him, I'm going with you." He got into the drivers seat and waited for her to join him.

Damon drove straight to Alaric's apartment assuming that would be the best place to start their search since it is where Klaus had been staying. They were both silent the whole drive, each lost in their own thoughts.

Damon had a million things running through his head. How could Stefan have agreed to this? Damon knew his life wasn't worth the sacrifice and he thought Stefan knew it as well. Why didn't Stefan just let him die and move on? His life would have been so much easier without Damon around causing problems and trying to come between Stefan and Elena. Elena. That is something else he couldn't stop thinking about. The kiss and the fact that she said she likes him now, just the way he is. He knew he didn't deserve her forgiveness, but he'd never needed anything more. If he'd died thinking that Elena hated him, that would have been a fate worse than death. And that kiss… How could he be thinking of this right now though? Stefan basically gave up his life for Damon's and all Damon could do was fantasize about Stefan's girlfriend. He quickly shook the thoughts from his mind and began focusing on where they were going and what he would do once they got there.

As they continued on towards Alaric's, Elena was having a meltdown inside. She couldn't believe that Stefan had agreed to go back on human blood. How could he do that to himself and to her? He must know that they will not be together any longer if he makes that choice, so is that what he wanted? To not be with her? And to think while he was giving up his life for his brother, she was kissing Damon and telling him that she cares about him. What kind of person is she? She was so disgusted with herself. But at the same time she felt like she had really helped Damon in that moment by opening up to him. Why did it always have to be one or the other with the Salvatore's? Why couldn't she ever make them both happy at the same time, instead of always hurting one to make the other happy? She knew the answer of course, they both loved her. So it would always be this way, only one of them would be happy with her decisions because they always seem to counteract with the other brother.

As they pulled up to Alaric's apartment, Elena saw the last thing she ever wanted to see. Stefan was feeding from a girl, probably around Elena's age, and she was looking very weak like she was on the verge of death. Elena flung herself out of the car before it even stopped fully and began running towards Stefan yelling his name and begging him to stop.

Stefan's head whipped towards her and he could hear her heart beating. He knew there was something familiar in her voice and in the smell of her blood, but he was too far gone to think clearly. He dropped the girl in his arms to the ground and headed towards the girl yelling his name, thrilled at the thought of draining her as well. Just as he was about to reach her he crashed into another body. He was snarling and fighting to get out of the grasp of the vampire holding him, who also seemed familiar, but he wasn't strong enough. Having only been on human blood for a few hours, he was still no match for a vampire who had been on human blood for years. As the other vampire fought him, his head began to clear of the blood frenzy and he finally realized why this vampire and human girl seemed so familiar. He stopped struggling and looked at Elena's crying form, lying in a heap on the ground sobbing for him to stop.

"I'm so sorry Elena." He whispered, unsure if she could even hear him, so embarrassed by the site she had witnessed that he just wanted to be away from her. "This is my life now. You need to go home and never look back. I'm leaving Mystic Falls tonight." He then looked at Damon and in a voice too low for Elena to hear he said, "Please, take care of her brother." With that he turned and sped off into the darkness. Klaus let out a low chuckle and Damon and Elena both noticed him for the first time since arriving. Elena jumped up from the ground and whirled towards him.

"You!" She shouted with fury and ran towards him. Damon was at her side in an instant, holding her back from charging at Klaus and getting herself killed. "Why are you doing this? What do you want from him?" She half yelled, half sobbed out the last part as her anger died down into pain and sadness.

"I could tell you my plans, but then I'd have to kill you both." Klaus answered with a smile. "And judging from the lengths Stefan went to to keep you both safe, I'd say that would not be want he'd want. So I'll just say this, Stefan is mine now. You two need to move and forget about him. If you try to meddle with my plans, you will pay with your lives as well as the lives of your loved ones. Consider this your one and only warning."

And then he was gone, heading off in the same direction Stefan had run. Elena fell back to the ground, her sobs growing louder and louder. Damon took her in his arms and held her as tight as he could without hurting her. He knew this was going to be a long hard road, but he was determined to be there for Elena as long as she wanted him to be. He hated to admit it, even to himself, but he needed her as much as she needed him in that moment.