Some of you have already noticed, but I started another short story. It came as a complete surprise to me one night while I was attempting to write the fourth chapter of this story. It will more than likely only be three chapters in length, but it is a little more adult than this one. So check it out if you are interested.

Not much to say about this chapter other than enjoy :)


Damon let himself fall back against the stone door. He felt the vibrations as Elena's fists slammed against its other side and momentarily hated its ability to mute conversations. Typically he loved this enhancement to their surrounding foundation, but it would have been so much easier if someone else could have heard what had just gone down inside of his room. At least then he wouldn't have to deal with turning the girl in himself.

He slammed his fist against the floor in irritation as a wave of guilt crashed against the base of his stomach. The feeling was completely unfamiliar and he hated himself for it. He knew what he had to do, what he needed to do, but why wasn't he moving to do it?

Damon brushed his hand through his dark hair and let out an unnecessary breathe of stale air. He was ashamed of how easily Elena had managed to get him to open up about Stefan, even if it was just for a moment. He had never let anyone see his pain regarding his brother, not even Caroline; and the fact that Elena had, only meant she was too dangerous to keep around. She needed to be handed in.

He lifted himself from the ground and started down the corridor to Elijah's bedroom chamber. He knew it was late, but considering the circumstances, he knew Elijah would forgive his intrusion. A werewolf in the heart of Tyrus was a good enough reason as any to barge into the lieutenant's room in the middle of the night.

As his feet began ascending the stairs to the next level, Damon fought back urges to turn around. His conscience kept bolting him with images of the 12 year old girl he used to know; the girl he gave up so much to protect. But Elena wasn't the same 12 year old girl from his past. She was his enemy, plain and simple.

And besides, she had gotten under his skin way too easily. She had evoked emotions from him he wasn't even aware he had anymore. Of course she had managed to piss him off, but she had also managed to make him feel the need to comfort, protect and save the same way he had six years ago. He was a different vampire now and those feelings were not acceptable. Well, not acceptable to him.

Each footstep he took closer to Elijah's door rang through his eardrums like a siren alerting him to back off and it took every ounce of his will to keep moving forward. Once at the door, he lifted his fist only to find the traitorous limb frozen in mid-air. He closed his eyes and pleaded with his arm to cooperate, but instead the limb fell lifelessly against his side.

The action was simple and the obvious one to make, and yet everything was fighting against him. He needed to turn the girl in! She was about to become a werewolf and even if she escaped the city walls, how long would she really last on her own anyway?

Yes, technically he was doing her a favor. Klaus' wife was about to create the spell that would ensure the vampire's success in the war. Soon everything would be over and Elena would have nowhere to run to anyway. At least this way, he could ensure her death was quick and painless. She would no longer have to bear the pain of losing her family; he could give her an easy out.

Satisfied with his internal reasoning, Damon lifted his hand to bang on the door once more. As he moved his fist a few inches forward, images of Elena made their way into his vision. First they were images once again of her as a child, but then they were replaced by images of the woman he had seen just moments before; the same woman that so desperately needed his help.

Damon shook his head in disgust and let out a frustrated growl as he brought his hand back against his chest. Loathing himself, he turned back around and headed in the direction of a new door.

The choice to save Elena once again was a stupid one and he knew it. He hated himself for it actually, but his damn morality was weighing too heavily on his shoulders for him to go back on it now. He would help the fucking girl get out of the city, meanwhile keeping his assistance a secret from everyone but her, and be done with Elena once and for all. He was a master at strategizing, so this was going to be a piece of cake. The only thing he needed to worry about was not getting emotionally attached.

He had seen the momentary lust in her eyes and Damon was no stranger to the look. Most females expressed this same desire in his presence and normally he could care less, but the problem was that he had enjoyed it coming from Elena; enjoyed it a little too much. He wanted the same respect and adoration she had shared for him as a child, but he also found himself wanting her to lust for him. And that was a dangerous problem.

Damon banged his fist against the door of the last person he wanted to encounter, but unfortunately it was his only option at the moment. Katherine had been the one that captured Elena in the first place and if he was going to help in her escape mission, he needed to know exactly how long he had to work with. Hopefully the bitch would be too wrapped up in her escapades to question why he needed the information. Katherine was smart, but she was also easily distracted.

The door swung open as Katherine emerged. By the state of her, Damon had interrupted quite the sexual situation. Her dress still remained on, but just barely. The bottom had been shredded into pieces and hung in different layers down her long legs. Her hair was disheveled in only a way that would be attractive on the evil vamp and she was covered in splotches of blood.

At the sight of Damon, Katherine slid her lips into a satisfied smile revealing her bloodstained fangs. She leaned her shoulder along the stone framing of the doorway and placed her hand on her free hip. "Would you care to join us? I can make it worth your while." She then pulled the fabric from her dress off of her shoulder revealing her bare breast as it slid down her side.

There was one time when Damon would have found this extremely erotic, but at the moment it only appeared desperate. Katherine was just a manipulative vampire with only one move- sex. And if he took that away, she had nothing.

Getting entirely too much satisfaction out of denying Katherine of what she clearly wanted, Damon shook his head and responded, "You look like you're having enough fun already without me."

Katherine licked the spare blood from the corner of her lips and purred, "But it could be more fun with a third. You see, my slave is very eager to please." She then slid the door open to reveal a blood covered male strapped in place on top of her bed. His eyes were wide with fear and it was apparent he was not enjoying the experience nearly as much as she was.

Damon's expression must have contorted into one full of concern, because Katherine felt the need to explain. "Oh don't mind him. He's enjoying every minute of this. I just compelled him to play hard to get because I prefer it when they scream."

Damon fully believed the second part of the vamp's statement, but he wasn't buying the first. Her human appeared terrified and kept mouthing the word help in his direction. The worst part was that Damon actually found himself wanting to help the poor bastard.

What the hell was wrong with him? What, now since he decided to help Elena his sympathy was just going to continue pouring out? No fucking way that was happening. Damon removed his eyes from the slave and focused them solely on Katherine. "I need to know when you captured Elena."

Katherine's eyes narrowed at his direct request and he immediately regretted including her name. It wasn't like him to get to know his food and Katherine knew this. "And why are we suddenly so interested in our slave? I know I picked a ripe one for you, but could it be that you've found someone to replace me so easily?" She moved her lips into a pout, and Damon could see the jealousy was genuine. Maybe the temptress really did have a soft spot in her non-beating heart, but he seriously doubted it.

Damon wasn't interested in playing her silly games right now. He had one objective on his mind and in order to get Katherine to comply, he had to shoot her down rough. He had to make it hurt. "You were never important enough to me to need replacing. I only had you out of pure boredom, so don't flatter yourself into thinking it was anything more. Now just answer my question."

Katherine rolled her eyes at his statement, ran her hand through her hair and nonchalantly replied, "Deny it all you want, but I can smell your lust for me." She then traced her fingertips down the fabric covering his chest until they landed in a firm clamp over his member. "If I recall correctly, I know exactly what you crave and I can make that painful desire all go away."

Irritated by her pitiful attempt at foreplay, he roughly grabbed onto her hand and lifted it into the air. "Despite what you may think, there's nothing here. So just answer my question."

Katherine let out a huff and slumped her body a bit in defeat. "You are such a buzz kill when you're acting all righteous. Fine, I brought her in two days ago."

No longer wanting to take part in their meaningless conversation, Damon threw her hand against her chest and headed down the hallway back towards his room. The last thing he heard was Katherine screaming, "We both know you'll be back. They always come back," before she roughly slid the door shut.


Elena found herself laying on Damon's bed staring at the cracks etched into the ceiling. Damon hadn't been gone very long, but it had been enough time for her to accept his decision. She understood it had been a heavy request to expect him to simply ignore the risks in order to help her escape. And it had been silly of her to assume that just because of their history, he would offer his support in her impossible idea. How the hell did she figure they would be able to pull such a stunt anyway?

When the door slid open revealing an alone Damon, she found herself apologizing. She wasn't sure why she felt the need to do so, but for some reason she felt it necessary to make his see she understood. "I'm sorry that I expected so much from you. It was a ridiculous idea thinking I could escape in the first place. I know this is your world now and things have changed, so I shouldn't have expected..."

Damon held up his finger indicating he required her silence. Elena obliged as he announced, "We have five days."

The statement swirled around in Elena's mind until she finally realized its meaning. Elena had no idea how she was supposed to respond. Was he telling her that she would help her? And how did he find out she had five days left?

She couldn't stop the shocked expression that consumed her face and Damon immediately found the need to clarify his statement. "Don't go reading too much into it, but it seems I can't bring myself to turn you in."

A smile stretched across her lips as she cocked her head to the side and asked, "What changed your mind?"

He pondered the question a moment before admitting through a disgusted expression, "Moral fiber."

It appeared she had been incorrect about two things. First one being that Damon obviously believed it possible for her to escape and the revelation sent a trickle of hope pumping through her bloodstream. Second being that Damon still had redeeming qualities that she had so ignorantly pointed out earlier that he hadn't. The revelation of this brought an even larger flow of hope pumping through her bloodstream.

Perhaps it wasn't too late to revert Damon into his once former self. He was still there and with every moment, came the possibility to bring him back to life.

Curiosity got the best of her and she found herself questioning, "How do you know I have five days left?"

Damon shook his head back and forth as he quickly replied, "Doesn't matter. What matters is that we now know how long we have to work with."

She would have appreciated a more detailed explanation, but it appeared she wouldn't be receiving one. Without thinking twice, Elena raised herself from the bed and threw her arms around him in a thankful embrace.

At her touch, Damon's form once again became rigid as if one movement from him would result in a severe infestation. He let her enjoy a moment before prying her hands from around his body. Elena wasn't sure, but she could have sworn she saw him fighting back a smile through the process.

Crushing any confirmation that she had been correct, Damon huffed and stated, "Alright, none of that hugging crap anymore. I think it's time to lay down a few ground rules or else I'm not going to help you in this impossible charade."

Elena's smile drifted from her lips as she questioned, "Ground rules?"

Damon positioned himself along the side of the wall and stated, "Yes; first one being the hugging. You're not 12 years old anymore, so I don't think that needs to be included in our physical contact anymore."

Elena rolled her eyes at his ridiculous rule and sarcastically replied, "Right. How am I supposed to forget that I'm not 12 years old anymore with you constantly reminding me?"

Damon let out a low laugh, the first one she had heard from him in six years, and said, "I'm just making sure you understand that circumstances are different. Our relationship is different. It's not appropriate for a grown woman to be hugging a grown man and it's even less appropriate for someone of your kind to be hugging one of mine."

Elena couldn't ignore the idea that Damon had only created the no hugging rule because it involved physical contact. And more importantly, she couldn't ignore the idea that physical contact provoked things from him that he wasn't ready to embrace. Immediately following the thought, she mentally scolded herself for considering such a ridiculous notion. Damon was now obviously the type of vampire who liked his space and that was the one and only reason he didn't feel comfortable contained within her arms.

She didn't approve of his rigid ways, but he had agreed to help her. She had no other option but to reply in a mocking tone, "No hugging. Got it."

Accepting her agreeance, Damon continued. "Second rule is no more questions about my feelings." He shivered as he spoke the word as though it was the most frightening thing that had ever escaped his lips.

Elena couldn't help but feel the need to clarify his statement as she asked, "Does that include personal questions or only questions regarding your feelings?"

Damon narrowed his eyes and responded, "Depends on the questions you intend to ask."

There was one question in particular that Elena desperately wanted to ask, but she knew it would only spoil his lightened attitude. She wanted to know why Damon had enlisted in the legion because somehow she knew this would define why Damon had become the shut-off creature he was.

After deciding it best to hold off on the important question for the sake of continuing their discussion, Elena instead asked a different one. "Are you happy here?" She was surprised when the words came out, but she found herself genuinely wanting to know.

A low growl came from Damon's throat signifying his obvious irritation at being asked such a question. The growl was not threatening, but Elena found herself taking a step back in order to supply more space between their bodies.

Feeling safer, Elena dramatically let out a breath of air. "Not sure if I should take that as a no or an I-don't-like-that-question. Either way, we can move on to another one."

She moved to take a seat on the bed feeling slightly more relaxed than she had before. She wasn't sure if it was the best idea, but she decided to test Damon's response to her teasing. "I don't see how considering your total lack of friendliness, but do you have any friends?

He shot her a look that clearly meant he wasn't ready for a joking environment, but otherwise remained silent. So she tried another.

"What do you do when you're not working? I mean, are you stuck in here?" He once again didn't respond to the question, so Elena attempted an alternate method at getting him to respond. Maybe if she reminded him that he wasn't speaking with a stranger, he would be more willing to reveal information about himself. "I was just curious. I can imagine this place could become quite boring considering you were always happiest when we spent time outdoors."

Damon remained motionless, but his face faltered slightly as she spoke of their past. Seeing the momentary breakthrough, she asked a question she had been building herself up for. She wasn't sure she was ready to hear his answer, in fear it wouldn't be the response she was looking for, but it had to be asked.

Elena looked up at Damon, wishing for the connection of his eyes, only to find them planted firmly on the floor and questioned, "Did you ever think about my family?"

Although he hadn't even started, Damon was apparently finished answering questions. He let out a frustrated sigh and looked up to finally meet her eyes. "Why does it even matter?"

Because she had thought about him every day; that was why it fucking mattered! Instead of repeating the statement out loud, Elena kept her reserve and countered, "Are you going to answer anything I ask?"

Damon smiled weakly at her statement and took a seat next to her on the bed far enough away that any physical contact was impossible. He turned to face her and said, "What I don't understand is why you are asking me personal questions instead of the obvious one. Aren't you the least bit interested in hearing how I intend to break you out of here?"

His question was a reasonable one, but Elena really had no idea how to answer it. She should have been focusing on their goal of her escape, but instead she found herself more interested in getting to know the new Damon. They had been so close and she had lost everyone else, so was it really too much to want the familiarity of having him back in her life? Even if it was for only a few days?

Realizing it best to be honest, Elena sighed and responded, "We have five days to figure out how I am getting out of here. I know you could easily go back on your decision within those five days, but I'd like to believe you won't. I'd like to believe that what we shared in the past is enough reason for you to want to save me, even if it is a selfish expectation."

Elena knew her next action could result in destroying the feeble structure holding Damon open, but she made it anyway. She scooted herself closer to him on the bed and reached out for his hand. He flinched at the contact, but otherwise kept his hand in place as she said, "I haven't seen you in six years and it would be nice to catch up. Get to know you again because, truth be told, I've missed you."

Sensing Damon's resistance at her statement, Elena felt the need to lighten the air. She cocked her head to the side and mocked, "I'm not sure if you remember, but we used to be fairly close when I was younger."

To her relief, he let out a laugh and Elena knew Damon was still there. She hadn't lost him to the heaviness of her confession. He removed his hand from her hold and rubbed it over his forehead. She witnessed his inner battle as he wavered between answering her questions and completely shutting them down.

His hand finally dropped to his side signifying he had come to a decision. He let out a huff before he answered everything in one go, "Yes I'm happy here. Well, most of the time. I have friends, but only one that actually qualifies as important. While I'm here, I spend most of my time training my team or down in the weapons cellar. But I'm not here often. My job is one of the few that allows me plenty of time in the forest and I take advantage of it as frequently as I can, because as you pointed out, I'm happiest when I'm outdoors." He paused a second before he finished, "And yes, I thought about you all of the time."

Elena was extremely surprised that he had felt comfortable enough to reveal that much information about himself. She figured he would have answered a question, maybe two, but he had gone down the list perfectly, not missing a single one. She processed all of his answers and mentally formulated how they contributed into the type of vampire he was, but found herself focusing on his last.

She hadn't missed that his final answer included the word you and she desperately found herself wanting him to clarify if it stood for her family or simply herself. She considered asking him a moment, before realizing how desperate it would sound.

Elena didn't realize she had been mindlessly staring at Damon, until he shot her a quizzical look. She felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment as she explained, "Sorry, you just startled me by answering everything. That's a lot of information to process, so I needed a minute."

Damon's face was unreadable and for a second she feared he could easily see through her pathetic lie. But relief seeped through her when his lips lifted into a warm smile. A betraying sigh escaped her lips, but if he had noticed he was polite enough not to mention it as he suggested, "How about I give you the whole night to process everything?"

Elena found her head shaking in opposition at his suggestion. She wasn't ready to end the night so quickly. She was just breaking the surface of his exterior and it wasn't enough to leave her feeling satisfied; she needed more.

He laughed at her opposition and argued, "It's been a long day for you. You've endured a lot and despite what you think, you need your rest."

She didn't need rest, she needed more answers. She looked at him with determined eyes and assured, "I'm not tired, really."

Ignoring her remark, Damon lifted himself from the bed and stated, "Well I am and that brings me to my third and final rule."

He turned back to look directly at her with intense eyes as he demanded, "You follow my orders without questions. Second guessing me could be the difference between your survival and your death." He then grabbed some fabric from a container nestled in the corner of his room and lowered himself on a spot on the rug covering a section of his floor.

Elena shot him a disbelieving look and questioned, "What are you doing?"

Damon whipped the fabric through the air as it fluttered and settled around his body. "My skins a little more resistant than yours, so you can sleep on the bed. I don't mind taking the floor."

Elena rolled her eyes at his childish behavior. They were both adults and it wasn't exactly like they were strangers; sharing a bed shouldn't be uncomfortable. "I'm not contagious Damon and I think your bed is big enough for both of us. You don't have to sleep on the floor."

He was about to refute her statement, when Elena spoke up again. "Don't be stupid. There is no need for you to be uncomfortable when there is enough room on here for both of us. You're saving my life, so the least I can do is give up half of the bed."

Damon appeared to consider her statement for a moment before he gave in. He threw the fabric against the stone wall and, before Elena had time to blink, every candle in the room except for one had been extinguished and he had placed himself next to her under the covers on the left side of the bed.

It had been a while since she had seen him take advantage of his supernatural abilities and it was something she was going to have to reacquaint herself with. Noticing her startled and impressed expression, he playfully wiggled his eye brows at her. In response Elena muttered, "Showoff," before she smiled to indicate her joking intention. She then rolled her eyes at the vampire as she took her spot next to him in the bed.

She rolled to her side to face him as she asked, "Are you going to tell me now how you plan on getting me the hell out of here?"

Damon lifted his hands and rested them behind his head as he nonchalantly replied, "Honestly, I have no idea. I only said that so you would stop asking me questions."

His honesty came as a shock, but the even bigger shock was that Damon had no plan devised. She had assumed that he would have already worked things out in his head and the fact that he hadn't made her extremely frustrated. "Don't you think we should maybe figure that out before we go to sleep?"

His finger suddenly covered her lips and Elena shivered at the contact. Thankfully Damon ignored her reaction as he whispered, "Shhh. I'll figure it out tomorrow."

"Damon…." Elena protested while swatting his finger from her lips.

"Third rule remember." Damon simply reminded.

Elena huffed, feeling like a child being controlled by her mother, but otherwise obeyed. They remained silent for a few moments before she felt the need to inform him, "It's been a while since I've had the luxury of sleeping under a blanket. So I'm apologizing now if I'm a cover hog."

She heard Damon rustle a bit under the fabric of the bed before he sarcastically responded, "I'm a little stronger than you, so if it comes down to it, I can always steal them back. Now go to sleep."

Elena felt the smile lift the corners of her lips and immediately felt guilty. Considering everything that had occurred throughout the day, she shouldn't have felt comfortable. And she sure as hell shouldn't be smiling. Her family had been taken from her, her life was in totally chaos, but she was no longer alone. This single realization eased her discomforting guilt and Elena felt the smile return.

She had succeeded in recruiting Damon. He was once again her ally, but she couldn't deny that there was potential for something more. She could feel the electricity from Damon's body calling for her to inch closer, but she resisted. He had just agreed to help her and blatantly made it clear that physical contact was not in his agenda, so pushing this desire would get her nothing. Accepting that allies were the only thing the two would ever be, Elena abruptly shut off her thoughts and to her surprise, Damon had been correct and sleep came easy.


Damon remained motionless as Elena's breathing became heavier signifying her succession into sleep.

He knew she was exhausted, but he hadn't ordered her to rest solely for her own benefit. Truth was, he had lied and he sure as hell wasn't tired, but he had started to foolishly reveal information that didn't need to be revealed. And sleep was the only way he could get her to stop talking before he found himself in trouble.

Before he had returned to the room that evening he had mentally assured himself that he no longer needed to be heated with the girl as he had been before. He knew he still needed to be careful and reserved, but as their conversation flowed he found himself wanting her to learn things about him.

He had tried to resist, but communicating with her had been easy. She pushed him, similar to the way Caroline did. Once he had finally given in, their back and forth had been surprisingly comfortable, but the difference between Elena and Caroline was that he didn't have the constant resistance pulling from his chest when he spoke with Caroline. She didn't ask him personal questions because she knew better. And these were the only types of questions Elena seemed interested in asking.

She wanted to know him, and rightfully so. He was the only person she had left and he resisted the urge to let himself acknowledge that she was practically the only person he had left in return. He sighed and also resisted the sudden feeling that he somehow needed her as much as she needed him.

He turned to gaze at Elena and watched her chest move slowly up and down to the rhythm of her breathing. He ignored the hunger scratching at this throat as his eyes made their way to her face and he studied the flawless features that it possessed. In her sleeping state, all despair had been removed from her expression. The pain of the day had been swept away and all that remained was a peacefully beautiful woman he suddenly found himself craving.

As much as he wanted to, Damon couldn't deny that a spark had been lit inside of him today; a spark that desperately needed to be put out. He was completely unfamiliar to the experience the emotions were provoking from within and the helplessness frightened him. This was because he somehow knew that every moment spent with Elena brought him closer to the possibility of that spark igniting into something terribly overpowering; something where the end results would be disastrous.

It was true that the girl held a certain something that separated her from the rest, but she was a different species entirely and in his world there was no room for a partnership like theirs. Whatever feelings that were sparking inside of him needed to be extinguished quickly because they would only result in something that could never happen.

He painfully removed his gaze from Elena and turned to face the wall. While she was out of his vision, she remained firmly planted in his mind and he cursed himself for foolishly making the choice to save her. This girl had possessed a powerful hold over him as a child so how had he expected to be able to stand against her as a woman? Perhaps he subconsciously knew these emotions were going to develop all along and that was the reason he had saved her.

Shaking his head at the audacity of his thoughts, he refocused them towards the plan he needed to devise in order to get Elena out of these walls. The plan that would free him of this pathetic state and back to the normalcy that, only hours before, he had called his life.


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