A/N: I don't own Vampire Diaries or any of the characters, but I do like to take them for a spin every now and again…

Damon pulled into the dimly lit parking lot, eyes scanning for any sign of danger, but the place appeared to be nearly deserted. Ten or so run-down bungalows looked like they'd been built in the fifties and never updated. The pink paint faded to a dingy brown and half of the windows were so obscured with dirt, even his sharp eyes couldn't tell if the curtains inside were drawn or not.

It was perfect.

"Stay here," he barked, in a sour mood after her stony silence in the car. The trip to the swanky hotel with her unconscious on the back seat had been more pleasant. If he'd had visions of spending the time with her in snappy banter, they'd been dashed after his first few attempts and conversation had been met with little more than noncommittal noises.

"No argument from me." Elena glanced out the window, a dubious look on her face as she took in the motel.

"I don't have to issue the usual warnings and threats, right? If I have to chase you when I get back, I'm gonna be seriously annoyed." Some of that annoyance crept into his voice now in anticipation of the argument he was sure was coming. But instead she offered no resistance.

"I'll be here," she promised.

"Okay then." Damon hesitated a moment longer, waiting to see if it was some kind of trick, but she sat there patiently. This was easier than he expected. Maybe on some level she did want to be rescued from the stupid bargain she'd made with Klaus? While she hadn't been exactly chatty, or at all grateful, she hadn't been rude or combative either. It was too much to hope for anything more.

It took less than two minutes for him to procure the key. It hadn't even been necessary to compel the clerk into forgetting them. The manager's office had been empty, the drone of the TV coming from the back room. Damon had simply taken the key to bungalow seven off the hook on the wall and left a fifty-dollar bill on the counter. Easy as pie.

Less easy was getting along with Elena in her present state of mind. Who would've thought his fantasies of getting her alone in a hotel room would be so off base?

"There's no air conditioning," she complained the moment they stepped into the room.

"You'll live," Damon replied, forcing open a window that had been painted shut many times over, with a single finger.

"Only one bed. I guess you'll be sleeping on the floor then?" A hopeful note crept into her voice.

"Yeah, right. If you're the squeamish one, you can sleep on the floor. I'm not giving up my night's sleep because you decided to be a prude." She didn't reply to that, and Damon was fairly certain he could talk her into sharing the bed later.

"No cable TV."

"Are you always this whiny with Stefan?" Damon plopped on the edge of the bed.

"Only when I'm bored out of my mind."

"I can think of ways to entertain you if you're feeling adventurous." He flashed his eyes playfully, but her resulting look was less than enthusiastic at the notion.

"At least there's a shower with clean towels," Elena sighed, peeking into the bathroom.

"And no bugs," he volunteered, sensing that would ease her mind.

"How can you tell?"

Damon tapped his ear. "Trust me, there are no bugs."

"Well, I'm going to take a shower now." Elena disappeared into the bathroom, the click of the lock sounding loud and clear in the silence.

"Enjoy," he called out, stretching out on the bed as he tried not to imagine what was going on in there. On second thought, he allowed his imagination to roam free while he heard the water running, every movement his sensitive ears picked up sparking a vivid image in his mind. Damon was still smiling when she emerged, a short white towel wrapped around her body and one around her hair.

"I'd like to change now," she said, waiting expectantly.

"Go right ahead." He didn't mind this view either.

"Would you mind stepping out for a few minutes?"

"What for?"

"I'd like some privacy."

"Use the bathroom."

"It's all steamy and muggy in there," she balked, looking back over her shoulder with distaste.

"It's nothing I haven't seen before you know," he pointed out.

Elena's head whipped around, dislodging the towel wrapped around her hair. "When have you ever seen me naked?"

"Doppelganger, remember? I've seen every glorious inch of that body, many times over." Damon grinned like the cat that ate the canary while she gaped at him. "Have I mentioned that I have an excellent memory?" God, she was adorable when she got all riled up. Even from there he could hear the blood pumping faster through her veins.

With a visible effort, she tried to shrug it away, as if it didn't bother her. "So what? It's not me."

"But I can definitely tell what's beneath that towel."

Her eyes narrowed into angry slits. "Enjoy those memories then, that's the closest you'll ever get to seeing any more of me." Scooping up her clothes, Elena disappeared back into the bathroom with a slam of the door.

Maybe this would be fun after all…

After declaring a truce, they set aside the hostility and settled in to watch an old movie on the grainy black and white TV. It was a nostalgic moment for Damon, who remembered living in a motel much like this one fifty or so years ago. With his hair slicked back, leather jacket and a motorcycle, Damon had fully embraced the rebel without a cause look, and he had fond memories of a time when people were much more easily shocked. Good times.

The buzz of his phone drew him from those pleasant memories and Damon looked down to see a text message from an unknown number. U owe me, it read, and included an attachment, a picture of Katherine and Stefan on what looked like a subway or a train.

"Looks like baby brother's out doing his part." He leaned over to show her the screen.

"What are they doing?" A pucker of worry appeared on her brow as she saw them together.

"Out trying to mask our trail is what I'd guess. They'd be stupid to stick around town with an angry Original on their tail."

Elena stared at the image until the backlight went out and she let go of the phone. "Do you think we can trust her?"

Damon bit back the retort that sprang to his lips, not wanting to get her all wound up again just when they were getting along semi-well. "No, but as long as it lines up with what she wants, I think we're okay."

"But how do we know what she wants?" Elena asked, the movie forgotten.

"Stefan is what she wants," he reminded her candidly.

"Great." She fell back against the pillow with a sour twist of the lips. "That's supposed to make me feel better?"

He offered a half shrug. "I'm just being honest. I thought you liked my honesty?" Half the time she even smiled over his blunt delivery.

"Yeah, I just hate feeling so…"

"Cooped up?"

"Powerless," came the reply in a forlorn voice.

"And here I thought it was the lack of HBO that's putting you in such a mood," he smirked.

"I don't deserve that, Damon." Elena flinched as if he'd struck her, and he felt about an inch high.

"I know. I'm sorry. If it makes you feel any better, I feel the same way," he admitted.

"You do?"

"Sure I do. It's not exactly the best feeling in the world knowing you're going up against someone who's older and stronger than you are, when you've been the big dog on the block for over a hundred years." It stuck in his throat to have to admit he was weaker than anyone.

"Okay, but he'd pretty much make any vampire feel that way, right? That's nothing to feel bad about."

There she was trying to make him feel better when at least half of this was his fault. That was part of why he loved her, her generosity of spirit. "Yeah well, I'd take on the entire family of Originals to keep you safe." Damon pushed a tendril of hair that hung over her eyes back, tucking it around her ear. With great difficulty he pulled his gaze from hers, struggling to put aloof disinterest into his voice. "We should get some sleep, we'll be moving on tomorrow."

Elena stared back at him a long time, unmoving until she blinked. "We're not staying here?"

"As charming as this place is, no. We should keep moving, it'll be safer that way. Now, are you gonna be a baby about sharing the bed or can we get some sleep?"

"You won't try anything?" Elena hesitated before climbing under the covers.

"Scout's honor." He held up a hand in a fair approximation of the Boy Scout salute.

"Were you ever a Boy Scout?"

"What do you think?" Damon smirked, pulling his slim fitting t-shirt up and over his head, though he kept his pants on to preserve her modesty. To his amusement she didn't reply, but she did climb under the covers without further argument. Damon could feel the heat radiating off of her body and fought the urge to pull her up close to his side. Somehow he thought that might tip the scales and send her to hole up in the bathroom for the night, and he really did want her to be able to get some rest. Instead he closed his eyes, content to listen to the rhythm of her breathing as she settled down for the night.

"Goodnight Elena," he said softly as her breath grew steady and deep.

Her laughter floated back to him as he chased her through the maze of hedges. Every time he turned a corner, Damon caught the flounce of her full skirts, or the tempting sight of long, dark curls bouncing against shoulders scandalously bare for the hour. She could have outrun him at any time, but she teased him, playing with him as she always did, and Damon allowed it, as he always did.

"Catch me if you can!" Her words were playful but mocking, as if she never expected him to measure up, but Damon knew better. He was smarter than she gave him credit for. Taking a short cut, he plunged through the hedge, only to pop up right in front of her, arms clasping around her tiny waist with a shout of victory.

"I caught you fair and square, now you owe me a kiss." He grinned from ear to ear.

"Fair and square? You cheated," she pouted prettily, allowing him to hold her close. "But very well, to the victor go the spoils."

That was all he needed to hear and Damon covered her lips with his in a passionate kiss, determined to make her respond whether she wanted to or not. At first, he could tell she was just letting him kiss her, but after a few seconds she started to kiss him back. Her small, powerful hands pulled him closer until she reared her head back and he braced himself for what he knew came next.

Her teeth sank into his throat, and he moaned in half pleasure, half pain. It seemed to go on forever until he grew dizzy, and only then did she stop. "Tell me that you want me as much as I want you," he murmured, nose pressed against her fragrant hair.

"I never wanted you," she purred at his ear as though she was murmuring sweet words of love. "You didn't think I did, did you?" Pulling back, she fixed him with a look of pity. "Aw, you did, how sweet," she mocked him again. Always mocking him, taking delight in his torment. How could he love such a monster?

Something snapped inside him and the urge to hurt her back became uncontrollable. As his fingers closed around her throat those dark, almond shaped eyes still sparkled with mirth, her body shaking with silent laughter. Damon pressed harder and harder, determined to wipe that smile off her face. He wanted to make her suffer, make her feel… something, anything for him besides amused contempt. If he couldn't have her love he would settle for her fear or even hate.

Her face changed then, eyes widening in fear and a rush of triumph swept through him. Until…

"Damon," she gasped. The tone and inflection could have been Katherine's, but some extra sense clued him in to the fact that it wasn't Katherine in his arms, it was Elena. All at once he felt the rush of blood thundering through her veins, growing fainter and fainter while his hands continued to choke the life out of her of their own volition.

In a panic he let go of her neck, cradling her body to his as he desperately searched for a pulse, but her fragile form was still and limp. An inarticulate cry of pure agony tore from his lips. What had he done?

What had he done?

Another kick.

Elena started to wonder if he was doing it on purpose just to bug her, but she wasn't giving up the bed, no way. "Cut it out, Damon," she growled, nudging him with her elbow. Since when was he so childish anyway? It was one thing trying to get a rise out of her, but quite another to resort to keeping her from sleep after he'd been the one to insist they share the bed in the first place. A low moan came from behind her, and she couldn't tell if it was a happy sound or a bad sound from the inflection. Rolling over, she peered at him in the darkness. "Damon?"

Another kick.

"Damn it, stop kicking me!" Elena's voice rose as she bolted up in bed, pushing the hair out of her eyes. A strangled cry came from his lips and his pale face twisted as if in pain. "Damon?" Her voice dropped with concern as she reached out to gently shake him free of the dream. He didn't respond, the dream holding tight, and an edge of panic crept into her voice as he cried out again, shaking him harder. "Damon!"

Those brilliant blue eyes snapped open, dazed and confused for the space of several heartbeats until he pulled her close, burying his head against her stomach. "I'll never hurt you again, I promise." His voice throbbed against her middle, arms holding her gently as though she might break.

Of all the things he could have said, those words left her absolutely stunned. Had Damon been dreaming he'd hurt her? Her arms closed around him instinctively, fingers sifting through his hair in a soothing manner. "Shh, Damon… I'm fine. Nothing bad happened, it was just a dream."

Damon stiffened. Pulling away, he perched on the edge of the bed, facing away from her. "Right, of course you are."

Elena scooted closer to try and read his expression. "What was that all about?"

"Nothing, it was only a dream." Damon rolled his head first one way and then the other, stretching his neck. "I'm gonna go get a bit of fresh air."

Watching him get up like he didn't have a care in the world, Elena was silent while he stepped out of the room in bare feet with no shirt on. Of course he wouldn't feel the cold, but she couldn't help worry about what was going on inside that thick skull of his. The sky was already starting to grow brighter with pre-dawn light and she rolled back under the covers, her eyes on the door, sleep eluding her while he was still out there.

With Damon gone, her gaze fell to his cell phone, sitting on the beside table. She might not get another chance like this, and if Katherine could send him texts, why couldn't she send a quick message to Stefan? Fingers flying over the keypad, she sent a brief text, eyes half on the door, expecting Damon to return at any moment.

Hey, it's Elena, r u ok?

Seconds later the response came in. I'm fine, the better question is, are you alright? Trust Stefan not to take any shortcuts, but then again, he was faster at texting anyway.

I'm good, she sent back. Wish u were here tho.

It isn't for long, just two more nights and we can make our plans for what comes next.

Elena held the phone in her hand, weighing whether or not to ask the next question. Is K with u?

There was a longer delay this time but then a blank reply came with a picture attached with Katherine obviously holding the camera, her lips in a pouty smile while she leaned close to Stefan, her hair tousled like she'd just gotten out of bed. Stefan's expression could best be defined as a scowl.

Guess so, Elena sent back, trying to tamp down the irrational jealousy that rose up at seeing them together. Just because Katherine wanted Stefan didn't mean he'd cheat on her, Elena knew that and she trusted him. After all she'd slept in the same bed with Damon the night before and nothing had happened. So why did it bother her to see them together?

Miss you.

Elena was about to respond in kind, when the door flung open and Damon snatched the phone out of her hands. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I was just…"

"I thought I told you not to contact Stefan? Damn it, Elena, can't you stay away from him for just a few days?"

The look in his eyes scared her for a moment and she scooted back on the bed, only to freeze when he fell to his knees with a strangled cry, clutching his head. "Damon? What is it, what's wrong?"

His tortured face turned up with a pleading look, struggling to speak but the pain was too great. When he managed to push through the pain, only one word hissed out from between his lips. "Run…"

A/N: Dun, dun, dun… you guys remember my cliffhangers, right? Who do you think is hot on their heels?

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