Ok I couldn't wait. I had to go ahead and post the first chapter. ;) I hope you guys enjoy the story! Make sure to review and check out my other Delena fanfiction My Paper Mistletoe :)
This fanfic takes place right after 3x18 but before 3x19.
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CaptainFlyingSparrow Productions
Disclaimer: I own nothing; I don't own TVD or any of the characters. They all belong to their rightful owners. I wish I owned Damon Salvatore (chuckles darkly).
Summary: Gambling comes in many different shapes and sizes, even in the supernatural world. Both werewolves and witches hate the vampire race, so it isn't hard to believe that a very old tradition still exists centuries later. Both Damon and Elena will play this deadly game; the only question is…who will survive?
The Vampire Diaries
Safe and Sound
By CaptainFlyingSparrow
Just close your eyes,
The Sun is going down,
You'll be alright,
No one can hurt you now,
Come morning light,
You and I'll be safe and sound.
-Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift ft Civil Wars
Chapter One
Her hands gripped the steering wheel tightly as she sat in the hospital parking lot. Tears falling from her eyes as the rain from above fell softly against her windshield before being swept away by the wipers.
The little cotton ball on her forearm was held tightly against her skin by pink tape that wrapped around her arm. She tried not to think about what had just transpired. She tried to ignore it, push it to the back of her mind and hope that sooner or later she would just forget about it completely.
Elena Gilbert should know better, she laughed out loud to herself for even the thought. She couldn't hide, not from the world that was her life now.
She had just given her first donation to Klaus, her first blood donation. She wanted to call a friend, Caroline maybe, Bonnie…maybe even Alaric. But when she picked up her phone this morning she ended up calling no other then Damon Salvatore.
She wasn't expecting him to pick up, not after what she did to him.
Damon to her surprise did pick up the phone, his usual snarky tone filling her ears. "How's everyone else's favorite doppelganger."
Everyone else's.
Elena couldn't help but feel hurt when he said those words. He was still mad at her, and who could blame him after what she had told him at the Mickelson's Ball.
I'm mad at you because I LOVE YOU!
Well maybe that's the problem.
That once sentence changed everything.
The look on his face when she said those words, still haunt her to this day. She had worked so hard to teach Damon how to care. To teach him that even though he was a monster, a vampire, that he could still keep his humanity. Then she threw it into his face.
He had every right to be mad at her. His love was not a problem, it was never a problem. The problem was she was scared of it. She was scared that she enjoyed his love, that she wanted his love, but at the same time wanted Stefan Salvatore's, his younger brother's love.
She was becoming Katherine Petrova, her other face, the other doppelganger…the one woman Elena Gilbert never wanted to be.
It's ok to love them both.
Elena's grip on the steering wheel tightened. No, it wasn't ok to love them both. They both deserved to be loved fully. They are not supposed to have to share the woman they love with someone else, it wasn't fair.
Elena's mind went back to this morning.
Even though Damon's voice was snarky she could still hear the hurt that laced through it. She pushed her guilt aside, answering him.
"I have to give my first donation today." That was all she said, her voice slightly cracking.
"Why are you telling me this." He was in his shell, like he was when she first met him. She has literally driven him to become his old self again. She couldn't help the tear that escaped her eye. This was her fault.
"Because… I want you to come with me." Elena said truthfully.
There was silence on the other end of the line, and Elena thought for a moment that he actually hung up on her.
"You're asking me?" he sounded shocked, Elena couldn't blame him.
"Yes." Elena answered, silently praying that he wouldn't ask for an explanation because truthfully she didn't have one.
"I'll come pick you up in a few minutes." He said softly. He started to sound like the Damon she spent night and day with over the summer after Stefan left. The Damon that she had become so accustomed to, the soft Damon.
"Actually, I was going to drive myself, I was wondering if you could meet me." Elena said quickly before he could hang up the phone.
There was another pause.
"Ok." He said back.
He was there when she made it to the hospital, leaning against his blue Camaro. She couldn't help the butterflies that dived around in her stomach at the sight of him. He was wearing the same blue shirt he wore on her birthday.
She loved that blue shirt.
When she came up beside him he smiled warmly at her.
He knew that this was hard for her; he knew that she didn't want to do this. Elena smiled back, trying her best to put on her "I'm totally ok!" face.
Of course, Damon Salvatore saw right through her, just as she saw right through him.
The blood donation felt like it lasted forever, but in all truthfulness it was only a little while. They didn't talk about vampires, werewolves, hybrids, or anything supernatural. They actually talked about movies, music, and Damon even suggested a few books that she might like to read.
Even in this stressful time, Damon seemed to bring her to ease.
When it was over, and Elena was bandaged up, they walked out together, Damon walking her to her car.
"Thank you for coming with me." she said thankfully. Damon nodded smiling slightly.
"Your welcome."
Elena looked at him one last time, getting lost in his blue eyes before tearing her gaze away.
"Bye." She said quickly before opening her car door to climb inside.
"Wait."
Elena turned to Damon, the tone of his voice catching her off guard. He sounded confused, and lost.
"Why did you ask me to come with you? Why not Caroline, or Bonnie. Hell, even Alaric?"
There it was, and Elena still didn't have an answer.
She stared at him for a moment, before sighing softly.
"Because." She paused, looking up into his blue eyes once more. "Because."
What in the hell kind of answer was that? That wasn't the truth; it was because he made her feel safe. She knew in her heart that Damon would protect her and keep her calm.
Damon seemed to be confused by her answer, but asked nothing more.
The tension between them was suffocating them both, Damon quickly said goodbye before making his way to his car. Elena watched him leave, and that was when she broke down. Everything just came crashing around her in that one moment.
So here she sat, looking out her windshield as the rain softly fell upon it, tears falling from her brown eyes. She angrily brushed them away, it was getting dark and she needed to get home before Alaric got worried.
She started her car, looking back at the parking place Damon's car once occupied through her rear view mirror.
With a sigh, she backed up and pulled out of the hospital parking lot.
She drove slowly, careful to take each turn correctly and not slide against the wet pavement.
It was dark by the time she got to the last stoplight before her house. The roads were completely deserted. She would have even ran the stoplight if it wasn't for that pesky little camera beside it.
She started to become antsy as she waited, her heart rate picking up. Something was wrong. Elena reached below her seat, pulling out a large wooden stake before sitting it in her lap.
She instantly felt secure.
She didn't notice that the light had turned green in her small panic, that wasn't until someone whispered from the back seat.
"It's green."
With wide eyes Elena grabbed for her stake ready to strike. In that instant someone reached forward, grabbed her by the hair, and slammed her head hard against the driver side window cracking it.
Elena dropped the stake in her hand to the floorboard below, and then her world faded to blackness.
-TVD-
Damon wasn't one for fidgeting; he left that to his brother. But for some reason he couldn't stop tapping his damn fingers against his steering wheel as he drove. Something in him kept screaming to turn around. That something was wrong.
After a few moments of fighting with himself, Damon did a quick u turn in the middle of road before slamming on the gas back towards the hospital.
Something was wrong; he could feel it in his gut, his heart, his black soul. His being. The last time he got this feeling was when Elena was in the hospital about to be swept away by Klaus and never to be seen again. He tried to call her multiple times but it went straight to voice mail. This was very unlike Elena, she always kept her phone charged and on her person.
He went to dial Alaric Saltzman's number, his finger hitting the numbers upon the screen. He looked up at the road for a moment, and then he slammed his foot against the break causing his Camaro to slide against the wet pavement screeching to a stop.
There, facing him was Elena's car. The driver's side door wide open, the ignition on, and the beeping from the open door loud in his sensitive ears.
Damon cautiously put his car in park and stepped out onto the road. The rain nothing but a drizzle. He tried to swallow the fear that started to form in his chest as he walked, his boots hard against the pavement, his body tense as his vampire senses were on full alert.
He reached the car stopping when he saw the small amount of blood that was splattered on the window. Panic filled his being as he looked inside, but all he found was the stake upon the floor and Elena's cell phone that sat inside her purse on the passenger seat.
Damon spun around full circle as he looked down the road for any sign of Elena, his blazing blue gaze looking through the darkness.
Damon didn't hesitate a moment longer he grabbed his phone and quickly dialed Alaric.
Beep beep beep.
Damon pulled the phone away from his ear in confusion looking at the screen, a large no signal message staring back at him. This couldn't be happening; he tried to dial again, no use.
He spun around, the rain falling steadily now.
"ELENA!" He screamed into the darkness the stop light across the road from him turning yellow then red as it reflecting in his frantic eyes. "ELENA!"
Then pain, pain unlike anything he ever felt before shot through his skull, causing him to fall to his knees his phone dropping from his hand to the pavement below. He rolled over onto his back, his side, clinching his head in his hands willing the pain to go away.
Voices filled the air around him, jumbled together; he could hear footsteps and a car come to a stop just feet away from where he lay.
Then, a prick in the neck and a burning sensation filled his veins.
Vervain.
The pain in his head stopped, now replaced with the burning that filled his bloodstream. Hands roughly picked him up; Damon tried to focus, his vision blurry as they dragged him across the pavement before roughly tossing him inside of a large white van, his head falling hard onto the carpeted floor. Damon fought with himself to stay conscious, he hasn't spent the last few months drinking vervain to be taken down by it so easily.
He focused on everything that went on around him in vain. He heard metal doors slam shut, and then he was moving. He could smell the leather and carpet, and what smelled like…blood…Elena's blood.
He strained to open his eyes, it was hard but he managed it. To his dismay, Elena lay before him, eyes closed almost as if she was sleeping. There was a large gaping wound upon her head, blood oozing into her brunette hair.
Damon gasped slightly at the sight of her; he wanted to reach out and touch her but his body was completely limp and useless. The road changed from smooth to uneven, causing them to bounce around roughly.
What felt like hours later the vehicle came to a sudden halt, jolting him painfully.
When the occupants in the front seat stepped out of the car slamming the doors behind them Damon made his move.
Weakly he reached over using all the strength he could manage; gently he shook Elena by the shoulder.
"Elena." He said his voice rough has he spoke. "Elena wake up!"
The back doors opened then, a blinding light filled the vehicle, causing Damon to shield his eyes with his hand.
The two men grabbed him roughly by the legs pulling him out and onto the pavement flat on his back.
Damon grunted, and didn't even have time to recover before they pulled him up to his feet and forced him to walk with them.
"Elena!" Damon yelled out, as he was dragged away. He strained to look over his shoulder watching a man with messy blonde hair roughly grab Elena and throw her carelessly over his shoulder. Damon tried to get free but was pulled forward by his captors. His undead heart sank as he watched the man carry Elena out of his view through a door, the echo of its cold slam burned into his brain.
Loud cheering filled his ears then causing them to ring loudly.
He tried to focus, his eyes burning as the vervain was starting to take its toll. Two other men walked by dragging a man who was covered in blood, his veins penetrating through his grayed skin. Damon tried to stand, pull himself away, but his legs gave out causing him to fall forward. Forcefully they lifted him back to his feet.
The lights were too bright, they hurt his eyes. Everything was starting to blur together again as he fought with himself to not lose consciousness. He had to stay awake; he had to fight off the vervian.
He needed to save Elena.
Someone came to a stop before them, looking down at Damon before looking at his captures. Damon tried to make out his face, but the lights above caused him to squeeze his eyes closed. He felt as if he was looking right into the sun.
"We can't use him yet; the vervain needs to be out of his system." he heard the man say over the ringing in his ears. "Put him in a containment cell and give him some blood. He'll be the next to last opponent."
What the hell was this guy talking about?
They were moving again, his boots sliding against the floor leaving black streaks across the tile. He opened his eyes for a moment, his head rolling as he fought with himself to stay awake.
With blurred vision, he watched as they stopped before a large door. One of the captors opened it, the metal hinges rubbed against one another making a loud screeching noise that filled his ears and echoed down the halls.
They then pushed him forward causing him to fall roughly onto the ground with a groan. Damon tried to sit up, his eyes focusing to the darker room.
He froze suddenly, as a familiar scent filled his nose.
Blood.
Screaming, blood curdling screams filled his ears as someone was thrown beside him, their breath knocked out of them as they hit the ground.
His eyes slowly started to come into focus as he saw the woman sit up, pushing herself against the wall at the other side of the room. He could hear her heartbeat as it raced, her breath ragged as fear coursed through her veins.
He felt his eyes shift as the vervain induced monster inside him came to the surface.
Her pale blue eyes stared straight into his as she tried to hide behind her mess of blonde hair.
"Drink up mate!" one of the captors said with a chuckle before slamming the door closed and latching it shut.
He paid no mind to them; he was too focused on the blood that fell from the woman's throat sliding delicately over her skin down her collar bone.
"No please." She pleaded, her voice trembling as tears escaped her eyes.
Damon locked eyes with her for a moment, swallowing his bloodlust and burying it deep inside him. But after a few more drops of blood fell from her throat, he didn't see the point. Why was he trying to control himself, he was a vampire, a monster. Not only did he need the blood to rescue Elena. He wanted the blood, also why the hell did he care about what Elena would think or feel, she doesn't care about how he feels.
He knew it was the monster inside of him that was in control now, he stopped fighting against it.
Emotions are overrated, with that he flipped his switch, turning off his emotions.
He grinned wickedly his fangs white, his eyes red against his blue irises, it had been too long since he had a real drink.
I hoped you guys liked it! Make sure to review and tell me what you think!
