Summary: Post S2. Stefan's gone and Elena's hurting. This is three times that Damon rescued Elena from several desperate situations. Oneshot.
A/N: Hi, everyone! I've not written anything in a while due to work overload/lack of inspiration, but Ian Somerhalder's performance in the season finale of TVD inspired this. It's my first shot at Delena and I hope it's ok. I'm not happy with all of it and I think that Damon in particular is OOC at times, but I'd really like to know what you think so please R&R. :)
Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or these characters.
Rescue
1.
Damon relaxed back into the sofa as he watched the crackling flames of the fire in front of him. It had been a tiring week. Somewhere in the midst of looking for Stefan, using the few journals they had and Bonnie's limited witch powers, he became more emotionally drained than he could ever remember. His brother's departure had been a shock to everyone but he was trying his best to bury away the guilt building up inside of him. Showing his emotions was not one of his traits and besides, he was determined to focus on finding Stefan.
The countless number of spells Bonnie had tried didn't work and each time, they found themselves back to square one. Klaus' precision meant that they didn't have any leads on killing sprees either, so getting to Stefan had proven to be even more difficult than he had imagined.
Of course, there was also Elena to worry about. They still hadn't talked about that moment and as time went on, Damon found himself less optimistic that they would ever discuss it. More importantly, he could sense that she was slowly falling apart with no one there to catch her. The loss of her aunt Jenna and Stefan's disappearance left her feeling alone and depressed. As much as Damon tried to cheer her up, he knew that it would take a long time for her to finally realise that neither of them were coming back and she would have to move on.
A buzzing noise interrupted his thoughts, and looking down at the coffee table in front of him, he realised that someone was calling him.
"What's the problem now, Barbie? Can't it wait? I'm tired." He grumbled into the phone.
"Damon?" she nearly shouted from the other end. Sensing her panic, he straightened up and concentrated on the blasting noise in the background. "It's Elena." Caroline cried from the other end.
As soon as those words left her mouth, he swiftly got up and ran at vampire speed to his car.
"Where are you?" he said, trying to remain calm.
"At the bar just outside of Mystic Falls."
"I'm on my way." He ended the call and sped down the motorway.
His brain nearly exploded as he struggled to guess how serious the situation must be. Before he had time to think, he swerved the car and quickly parked it crookedly on the kerb. Rushing out of the car, he raced over to the bar.
He saw Caroline's scared expression as soon as he entered and ran over to where she was kneeling, on a secluded part of the bar. Sure enough, she was sitting beside Elena's sleeping form, and hysterically crying.
"How much has she had to drink?" Damon said as he took her cold and fragile hand in his, feeling for her pulse. No time for sarcastic comments now. He thought as he sensed the alcohol on Caroline's breath and Elena's weak pulse.
"I don't know! I lost count after the 5th one."
"And you didn't think to stop her?" he snarled. Stupid Barbie.
"I'm sorry! I thought she would be fine. She was until…" she sobbed as her words became incoherent mumbles.
"Elena?" he whispered in her ear. "Can you hear me?"
He started to fully panic when she didn't respond and he felt her heart rate slowing down. Caroline was beginning to lose control now, wailing loudly. Biting into his wrist, he brought the warm liquid up to her lips. He ignored Caroline's feeble protests.
"Come on, Elena, drink."
The blood entered her lips and after a few seconds, he felt her softly tugging onto his wrist.
"Please wake up, sweetheart." He said, cupping her cheek and moving her to lay in his arms. She stirred and moaned lightly.
"Damon?" she whispered. He pulled her up and began to carry her out, back into his car, ignoring the look he received from the bartender. Caroline dragged herself behind, looking guilty and extremely worried.
"Damon, I'm sorry. I'm so-"
"Go home, Caroline." He said, emotionless, as he placed her in the seat and walked over to the driver's seat. Caroline's sobs had now turned into sniffles but nevertheless; she walked back to her car, knowing that Elena would be safe with Damon.
When Elena began to wake up, they were already home and Damon was carrying her up the stairs. Thankfully, Jeremy and Alaric were nowhere to be seen.
"Mhm… Damon…" she snuggled up closer to him. He wrapped the blankets around her and placed the worn out teddy on her pillow. Just as he was going to turn around and leave, she reached out for his hand and pulled him back.
"Please stay." She said sleepily and turned around, clutching her teddy close to her chest.
He swallowed loudly but didn't protest. Instead, he took off his shoes and proceeded to the other side of the bed, gently laying down. He would be there for her in the morning, he thought as he drifted into sleep.
2.
A few weeks had gone by since Damon rescued Elena from the bar. They didn't talk about it- not in the morning when she woke up with a hangover, and not in the days that followed. He simply gave her a glass of water and held her hair as she violently threw up, not saying anything. Elena was grateful that he was there for her, even though she didn't remember anything that had happened the day before.
And so their slow and feeble attempts to search for Stefan continued, with Elena growing more miserable in the process. She didn't let anyone see her suffering but Damon could sense her distress from miles. Every time he tried, he had hopelessly failed to have any conversation with her that didn't involve Stefan. His love for her was growing stronger and he desperately wished that he could comfort her.
Suddenly, his phone rang and he unwillingly answered.
"Gilbert?" he said, surprised. Jeremy almost never called him.
"Damon, it's Elena." He replied, breathlessly. This time, Damon didn't even bother to answer, as he knew that Jeremy would be expecting him soon. It was late and he knew that Elena must be home at this time of night. He rushed out and began to run to the Gilberts' home. Saving Elena had progressively become a habit of his, it seemed.
He came to a halt as he saw Jeremy standing outside and shouting Elena's name. In the night's darkest hour, Elena was standing still at her window ledge, only one step away from falling. Jeremy was desperately crying out her name from the front yard as he tried to get her to come down. It was to no avail as she was completely unresponsive.
"Elena, please come down. I need you, sis." Jeremy screamed.
Damon went to stand next to him, helping him as he nearly fell to the ground from shock. Could it be? No… Elena surely wouldn't… Damon swallowed as he shook his head from thinking about what she might do.
"Jeremy, hey! Listen to me. What happened?" Damon spoke.
"I-I…I came back home… and she was… she…" he tried explaining. Realising that it was getting too much for Jeremy, Damon looked back at Elena, hoping to find another way to get her down. As he looked more closely, he saw that her eyes were closed and she wasn't moving.
She's sleepwalking. He thought. That's the only explanation. He looked around, trying to think of a way to get her down. She was standing right on the edge and was dangerously close to falling off. He would be able to catch her in time but depending on how she fell, she may hit herself against the tree's thick branches.
The tree. The thought quickly entered his head, as he swiftly began to climb the trunk. Gracefully moving from side to side, he used his strength to push himself higher until he was almost level with Elena. Stopping, he noticed that he was unable to continue because the branch was too thin to support his weight. Fortunately, he was in a comfortable position to jump and catch her if she fell. As soon as he thought this, her eyes fluttered open and she began to sway, unaware of her surroundings. Her light body started to drop under gravity but before she had any time to scream, two strong arms enveloped her. Damon quickly turned them over and prepared himself for the fall as he clutched Elena. A slight scream left Elena's lips as Damon's body touched the ground. Jeremy stood speechless from the side, unable to move his feet.
As she started to comprehend just how close to death she was, tears trickled down Elena's cheeks and short, ragged breaths came from her mouth. Damon wrapped his arms around her waist and settled her in a sitting position, rocking her back and forth.
"Shh, it's ok. You're safe now. You were sleepwalking but it's over. I've got you, don't worry." He continued to whisper comfortingly in her ear. Once she began to calm down, he gathered her up in his arms and carried her back into the house. Memories of drunk Elena flooded him as he remembered that not long ago, he had done the same thing.
Jeremy shakily entered the house and looked at him, with a tired expression.
"Thanks." He said softly. "I don't what I would've done if…" he stopped there, unable to continue. Damon nodded and carried her upstairs. It would be a long night.
3.
Only three days had gone by but Elena needed him more than ever. After the accident, she made sure to close her windows before she went to sleep.
Damon's phone buzzed once again.
"Ric, I'm in the middle of a council meeting." He muttered.
"Damon, it's Elena." Alaric said, exasperated. Damon didn't even gather his things, he simply excused himself from the meeting and rushed out to his car.
Arriving at the Gilberts' house, he heard objects smashing upstairs and the most heartbreaking sound he could imagine- Elena's loud sobs. He considered entering her room through the window but saw that it was locked, so instead, ran upstairs to where Alaric and Jeremy stood.
"Damon, thank God you're here." Alaric said, getting up from his sitting position on the floor. "We've tried everything but she won't come out."
"We're supposed to be going to the cemetery. It's one year since mom and dad died." Jeremy whispered, his voice breaking. "I told her to get ready but she locked herself up."
"Elena? It's Damon."
She seemed to take no notice of this as the sound of more objects falling to the ground filled the silence. Her crying continued and the smell of fresh blood entered his nostrils. Although his vampire instincts should control him, Damon found that he was more worried about Elena hurting herself to care about the blood.
"Elena? Please come out." He banged on the door. The crying stopped and Damon could only hear her fast heartbeat.
"I'm going to break the door if you don't come out. Please, Elena!" he added, as calm as possible. "Okay, I'm coming in now." He said, but nevertheless waited a few seconds to see if she would change her mind. Then he broke the door's hinges and barged in.
The sight was agonising. Elena lay in a curled ball in the middle of the floor, blood dripping from her bruised knuckles. The mirror was smashed, and other objects such as the lampshade on the side of her room were knocked over. Clothes and other small possessions were scattered around everywhere.
"Elena!" he sped over to her side and inspected her hand. "Bring me a cloth." He instructed Jeremy and Alaric who stood on the side. They immediately rushed out of the room, leaving them alone.
"It's my fault." She whispered, refusing to meet his gaze.
"What?"
"It's my fault, Damon. Everything's my fault. My parent's wouldn't have died if it wasn't for me. And Aunt Jenna, and-and…" she broke down. Alaric handed the cloth to Damon while he proceeded to clean up her hand. She didn't refuse, only carried on crying. He leant against the wall, holding her to him. She continued to thrash around and when he tried to stop her, she began punching her small fists against his chest, crying uncontrollably. He sat there, waiting for her to let it all out. After what seemed like hours, she eventually stopped but the tears didn't.
"Stop blaming yourself, Elena. You didn't do anything wrong."
"No Damon! You don't know anything, you weren't there! And now Jeremy hates me and I hate myself. I'm so lonely, Damon." She managed to say, her thoughts scattered. Damon understood her though. He understood what it was like to feel alone and guilty.
"You have me. I'm always here." He pulled her tighter to him. At this, she began to calm down.
"I know. Thank you." She whispered.
"Always. Don't ever forget that."