There was nothing but silence between them in the car. Elena's thoughts were in overdrive. How could her life and those that she love be so out of control. Everyone wants to help her, but there is...well there was only one solution and even that's gone. So what now? Stefan is captive in the tomb with Katherine. Jeremy has been affected by all this, it's taking it's toll on Bonnie, too. All because of me, Elena thought. Then there's Damon. Before she knew it, she was home. What a wonderful place to be.

"Home sweet home." he knew she was frustrated. But she surprised him again. "Thank you." Elena turned to him.

"For what?"

"For everything. I still wanted to turn myself in to Klaus, but well I see that there were no guarantees with that plan." Elena was reaching for the door handle when he reached out and gave her other hand a squeeze. "Any time. Now get inside AND lock the door" giving her one of his infamous trademark smirks.

The house was quiet. She took a peek in Jeremy's room and found him sound asleep. She heard faint voices coming from Jenna's room so obviously Alaric was spending the night again. Elena smiled at the thought that at least someone in that household was living a normal life. Well, about as normal as can be when you're in the dark about the existence of vampires, witches and werewolves.

Satisfied that everything was okay at home, her thoughts turned to Stefan and what could be going on inside the tomb with Katherine. Shuddering at the thoughts running through her mind, she started to strip off all of her clothes. Taking a shower to wash away the events of the day felt right, but thoughts of Damon entered her mind as the spray of warm water pelted her body. She closed her eyes as if to will them away. Memories of their heated argument in Slater's apartment; the way he talked to her; the way they came dangerously close to kissing and, being honest right now she wanted it badly. But he infuriates her; he frustrates her because deep down he is right. Giving herself up so easily was a fool's errand. There is no doubt in her mind that Damon will do whatever it takes to ensure that she survives this madness even if it means his life is sacrificed. He meant everything he said that afternoon and their battle of wills was an adrenalin rush filled with passion and something else...love though she won't admit it. Her thoughts drifted to sex as she caressed her body with soapy hands. If she would let her thoughts go there – sex with Damon made her hot and her nether regions began to throb at the thought. Reliving the argument again, the way he leaned in to kiss her made her heart race, her breathing erratic and she could feel her arousal dripping. Her eyes snapped open. Thinking about her boyfriend's ...scratch that ex-boyfriend...maybe boyfriend again brother is wrong, isn't it? "Oh, god this is so wrong." Her fingers explored the slick wetness between her legs that had nothing to do with the shower; imagining what it would be like if it was his fingers doing the exploring.

The water growing cold snapped her out of those thoughts about Damon. After a quick rinse she stepped out of the shower and and wrapped herself in a towel and using another to dry her hair. She padded out of the bathroom and over her dresser. Elena frowned as she could swear her brush was where she last put it. It wasn't in one of her draws, it hadn't ended up on the floor. Shrugging it off as having misplaced it, she grabbed her comb from her purse instead. As she stood before the mirror combing out her hair, her eyes noticed that her picture of her as a cheerleader was missing, too. "Ok, now that is weird." What else could be missing? A couple of things from her jewelry box seemed to be missing, but she wasn't sure which ones. "Oh my god someone has been in my room."

Damon was feeling lonely rattling around in the boarding house with Rose long gone. She could be two states over by now the way she bailed at the sight of Elijah. He hadn't expected her to become a permanent fixture any way. In fact, he didn't want her to become anything, but after the events of the day it, he could use the sexual release from a willing partner. He had enjoyed her several times the night before, but it was just sex and to be truthful his thoughts often turned to Elena during their trysts. Just as he was about to pour another glass of bourbon his phone rang. He retrieved it from the table and saw that it was Elena.

"Hello, Elena. Miss me already?" If Elena had video on her phone, she would've seen his trademark smirk.

He listened as she rattled off the stolen items from her dresser. "My hairbrush and my picture are both gone along with some other things, I think."

That was enough for Damon to become seriously fearful that an intruder could've been in her room the night before and now that he has seen that Elijah is alive despite the gigantic stake that he himself had drove into his heart, anything possible. Those sonofbitches might be able to enter a home without an invite for all he knew.

"I'll be right over." Before Elena could respond, he hung up the phone.

Elena searched again for the missing items, looking under the bed just to make sure they didn't end up there for some mysterious reason, but she knew the answer already that she wouldn't find them. Just as she got up from inspecting under the bed, Damon was already there which startled her even though she knew he was coming over.

"Oh, my god you scared me for a sec. I don't think I'll ever get used to it." Elena put her hand over heart as she gasped.

"Well, you're the one with an open window policy. He probably got in that way." Damon said gesturing to the window he had just entered. He then made a beeline for her bed, grabbing teddy in the process resting him on his chest. He patted the spot next to him suggestively.

"You're not spending the night, Damon. I just need someone to talk to about..." But Damon cut her off before she could finish her thought.

"Au contraire, but I will be spending the night and maybe the night after this one if we don't get Stefan out of the tomb tomorrow."

Elena's thoughts went to Stefan and what kind of games Katherine could be playing on him at this moment. "I don't need a bodyguard, Damon. I'm done with kamikaze missions, ok."

"No, Elena I'm not leaving. Not with the possibility that this person...maybe even a vampire could pay you another visit." Before she could open her mouth, he was in front of her.

"It seems odd that those items were taken, but they must be important to whoever was here." They were face-to-face again and tension was building again between them. Elena was the first to move away by going to sit on her bed. "I'm worried about Stefan", she said changing the subject.

"Stefan will be ok tonight." Damon tried to reassure her as he sat next down next to her.

"How do you know that? Katherine is psychotic and is capable of anything." She turned to face Damon ."Look, Katherine came back for Stefan, so it stands to reason that she's not going to hurt him while he's in there with her. Now if Stefan is lucky enough to do us all a favor and rip her heart while he's in there, I will bow down to him for eternity." Damon was serious that if Katherine was dead by the time they got Stefan released, a small portion of their problems would be solved.

"I don't know..." Her eyes not meeting his.

Damon let out a sigh that he knew where she was coming from in her worry. "Katherine may try to come on to him while they're in there, but my brother loves you." He didn't want to add to her fears that Stefan may not be able resist fucking Katherine. Elena didn't need to know that Stefan still had Katherine's picture all this time after their relationship took hold. Not that he was holding anything back, but he'd rather believe that he's not wrong about his brother.

They shared a look that they were both worried about what tomorrow may bring.

"Hey, aren't you tired, Elena? I'm beat!" He offered a small reassuring smile as he said it.

"Not sleepy, way too wound up." Her yawn betrayed her words.

Damon beckoned her to lie flat on her stomach. "Why?" Elena asked with a mixture of skepticism and suspicion...well the latter is up for debate. Nonetheless, she complied with his order.

"Because I give fantastic massages." She was wearing pj's that were similar to the ones he saw her in the night he returned her necklace after having told her that he loves her. It was going to be hard to stay in control because he wanted to make love to her so badly.

"Damon, no funny stuff, k", Elena said as she stretched out before him.

"Get your smutty mind out of the gutter, Elena. This is just a massage to help you get to sleep." She gave a little laugh that let him know that she was ok with him touching her.

Damon kicked off his shoes and took off his leather jacket. He straddled her thighs making sure not to put too much of his weight on her as went to work massaging out tension in her shoulders. He brushed aside her hair to focus on her neck and was rewarded with low moan. "Does that feel good?" His voice was low and soothing.

"Ummmmhmmm..." Elena uttered as he worked on her back next. She realized he had incredible hands as he got all her pressure points releasing tension that she didn't realize she had built up inside.

"Take deep breaths and let it out." He was tempted to ask her to take off her top so that his hands would be directly on her skin, but thought the better of it. He was already feeling himself growing hard.

"Don't stop. That feels so good." That snapped him out of his thoughts.

"I think that's enough. Sleepy now? She nodded her head.

He rolled off her and onto the other side of the bed. This is going to be a long night he thought to himself.

Elena scooted under the covers, but Damon decided it was safer if he stayed above them. He stayed awake awhile partly to listen out for the return of whatever or whoever entered the house the night before, but mostly thinking about what the future held for all of them if they survived. He rolled over and watched Elena sleep and remembered the night he visited her while she was sleeping and brushed his hand against her cheek. It seemed like an eternity ago and they have had rough times in between, but now having her friendship, knowing that she cares about him and it may have been a Freudian slip up on her part – love him.

Sometime during the night Damon was awakened by Elena softly moaning something in her sleep. He lay very still in case she moaned something else. It didn't sound like a nightmare so he wasn't worried on that front. Then he heard her utter his name. He rolled over to his side, propping himself on his elbow when he heard her softly moaning his name over and over. She started kicking the covers and pushing them down. Whatever she was dreaming seemed erotic. He had expected her to wake from it with a start, but she was sound asleep.

The morning sun woke him up, but to his surprise sometime during the night, Elena partially draped her body over his. Both of them above the covers. For a moment, he simply enjoyed the view and it would make him the happiest man on earth if he could wake up to her just like this every morning. But the reality is different. So he gently extricated himself from under her trying not to wake her. "Rise and shine sleepy head", he whispered in her ear.

"Ummm...what time is it?" Elena said as she sat up sleepily and stretched. Damon checked his phone and the time was 7 a.m.

"We've got to go check in on Stefan." Elena was already out of bed, grabbing some clothes from her closet.

"What do you mean by we. There is no we." Damon blocked her way to bathroom. "You are going to school and I'll go check on Stefan. I'll stop by the boarding house and pick up a few bags of blood on the way."

Elena pushed past him into the bathroom eyeing him... "We'll finish this conversation after I get dressed."

"So why can't I go see how he's doing..." Elena asked as she exited the bathroom.

"Because I promised Stefan that I'd keep you away from the tomb that's why", Damon replied. No sugar-coating, just the straight and honest truth.

Elena nodded her head, but it still didn't make sense to her.

"Ok, I promise not to go inside the tomb, but only talk to him at the entrance."

"He said "No, Elena. Look he's concerned about you. He doesn't want you to see him like that and he wants to protect you."

"See that's the problem – both of you want to protect me, but..."

Damon let out breath and rolled his eyes. There really was no arguing with Elena so spotting her car keys on the dresser, he sped over to where they were and grabbed them before she could.

"Give them to me, Damon." Elena held out her hand, looking him in the eye.

"I'll give them back to you this afternoon after school." He said depositing them in his jacket pocket. "I'll drop you off at school and pick you up after." He said.

"Damon, don't treat me like a child!" Elena's voice was louder than she had intended it to be. After all Jenna and Alaric may hear them. "I won't do anything stupid if that's what you're thinking."

Damon eyed her with suspicion. He knew she was passionate and stubborn. They were two of kind in many respects which is what drew him to her in the first place.

"Ok, Ok, I'll go to school." Elena conceded.

Very little was said in the car as Damon drove her to school. Finally, Elena broke the silence as she looked straight ahead. "So what's the plan to get Stefan out?"

Damon didn't know if he had a plan yet. It pained him to admit it. "I don't have one." He sighed. "We need a stronger witch because the one we have now sucks!"

"Damon!" Elena exclaimed in mock outrage.

"Sorry, but she does. She' s not strong enough to bring down the seal. Simple as that." Damon looked at Elena for a moment before turning back to the road ahead.

"There is also a full moon tonight and that Tyler kid will be making his transformation. Have you talked to blondie lately?" Damon asked.

"Not in a couple of days." Elena replied.

Damon decided it was time that he made a call to Caroline later to find out what's going with Tyler. He didn't want any surprises tonight. Added to his worry is what will happen when Tyler transforms and with a werewolf roaming the woods of Mystic Falls, Stefan will not be safe with that creature on the prowl. He couldn't be bothered to give a fuck how Katherine would fair tonight, but he needed to get his brother out of there as soon as possible. In fact, nobody should be out and about tonight. Then again, nobody knows that werewolves exist and if any human is attacked it truly will be the result of an animal attack.

Damon pulled into the parking lot of the school. Elena gave him a look that said she was still upset that he took her keys as she got of the car. "Tell Stefan...just tell him that I'm thinking of him, ok."

Damon acknowledged it with a nod. But before he drove off, "By the way, don't think of skipping out later, I've got my spies everywhere." He really didn't have anyone spying on her, but she didn't know that. Elena opened her mouth to say something, but the words didn't come. So with an eye roll she walked off and Damon drove off with smile on his face.

Damon sped into the boarding house after having dropped Elena off to take a quick shower and change of clothes before grabbing a couple of bags of blood. Once at the tomb, he called out to Stefan. "Stefan! I brought breakfast!"

A few seconds passed when Katherine sauntered to the entrance wearing nothing, but her panties and bra. "Well, hello lover. Did you bring me some, too?"

Damon didn't know what to think. Could Elena's fears have become reality? Could that feeling in his gut be true?

Stefan came up behind Katherine wearing nothing but his pants – no doubt having just dressed.

"Please, please tell me you didn't." Damon looked on at him and at the two of them.

Stefan said nothing, but the look on his face told Damon the answer.

"Of course we did. I told you I was bored and Stefan and I played all night", Katherine said putting the emphasis on the all.

"You – shut the fuck up." Damon pointed at Katherine and then went back to glaring at Stefan who still said nothing. He turned to walk away, but not before tossing the blood bags inside the tomb.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Somebody must've got up on the wrong side of Elena's bed." Katherine teased.

Damon was so angry at what he was seeing before his very eyes he could've let his emotions get him in the same predicament that his brother was in. If there was ever a time that he wanted to kill his brother it was now. Right now the only thing saving Stefan's life is the trap that the tomb posed. But he knew that Elena's life depended on him keeping a level head. As he walked away, Stefan called out to him.

"I'm sorry. Promise me that you won't tell her. If...when I get out of here I'll do it." Stefan said.

"You do not have the right to ask me to promise you anything, Stefan. Damon turned back to direct his response. "I will protect her and I'm still going to find a way to get you out, but beyond that I'm not promising you anything. So was she worth it?" Pointing to Katherine in disgust. "Because Elena wants to see you and I'm keeping her away because you asked. Now you've given me another reason. I don't want to see her heart broken because you made the decision to screw that bitch."

If Damon pounded on the steering wheel any harder, he would've broken it. He wanted to scream out in anger and frustration. How utterly stupid could his brother be! He doesn't know if he can keep this from Elena. Hell, he doesn't even know that she would believe him if he did tell her. For now, it was easier to deal with the other pressing issues that they face than dealing with Stefan and Katherine like giving Caroline a call.

Damon picked up his cell. Caroline answered. "Hey, Damon."

"Get yourself over to The Grill after school. I need to talk to about what's going to be happening to Tyler tonight."

"Ok, 'cos I wanted to talk to you about that."