CHAPTER 7

Everything was in chaos.

Caroline poured herself the biggest measure of bourbon she had ever seen and began to gulp it down. She hated the taste of it, but right now she understood the compulsion to drink away thoughts of reality. If she had discovered alcohol when she was younger and it's abilities to help block out painful moments for periods of time, she would definitely have ended up hanging with the troubled kids at the back of the gym building every day. She had never understood why they thought it was ok to drink alcohol right under their teachers' noses. She hadn't had any time for them, sweeping them aside like common drug addicts and losers, but now…now she got their reasons, she understood their drive to numb the pain.

She desperately wanted to stop the tears flowing but she had been trying to straighten herself out for a few hours now and she still couldn't hold them back. She felt so ashamed that she had let Elena out by herself. She felt stupid for believing that Elena was ready and she felt even more furious at herself for not contemplating why Elena would want to go herself. Elena might have convinced herself that she wanted to feed on her own because she was ready but Caroline should have known that the anger and hurt she was feeling would take over. Now Elena had almost killed someone and she had torn Damon up pretty badly. Damon had done a lot of terrible things and he still frightened her, but when she saw his beaten body in the woods, she had cried for him. No one, not even Damon deserved to be hurt like that. Had he been human he would have been death at the first assault. The worst thing about it all was that she had heard the whole thing happen as she ran into the woods looking for them.

Caroline shook her head as a small sob left her again and she gulped a huge mouthful of bourbon again. She had heard Elena demand that he fight back and he hadn't. Judging by the state his body had been in, he hadn't even tried to restrain her. He had just let her almost kill him. Until that moment Caroline still had reservations on Damon's intentions with Elena. He always seemed so selfish and inconsiderate of her feelings. This new information had blown Caroline's mind and she didn't know what to feel anymore. She was so glad that she and Stefan had coordinated just in case Elena had needed them. Stefan had brought Elena home, vervained beyond belief and put her in the cellar. Caroline had wanted to question whether the cellar was appropriate but she didn't argue when Stefan simply shot her a look of fierce certainty. She had almost taken a step back in fear at his expression. Now Elena was locked in the dungeon for all intents and purposes and Damon was still recovering in his room. She had laid him on his bed, taking care not to increase his injuries any further. She had waited for Stefan to get home before trying to re-set Damon's bones as she didn't know how – anatomy class hadn't been her strong point. Stefan had inspected Damon and told her to leave the room and hold the door. She had been frightened by that indication and sat behind the door in the hall with her hands over her ears as she tried to drown out the screams from the room. They seemed to last for hours before finally the door opened and she fell back into Stefan's legs.

Stefan helped her up and they shared a look of pain and sadness they had never done before. Stefan nodded to her and she gave him the blood bags he had sent her for. She lingered by the door nervously as Stefan moved to the side of Damon's bed and lowered the bags down beside him. He opened one and held it to Damon's chalk white lips. Damon looked like a corpse but at least his screams verified that he was in fact still alive. Stefan was holding Damon's head to the bag so delicately, lovingly that she suddenly felt like an intruder to this moment between them and so she had closed the door and came down stairs for a large drink.

She finished the glass with a deep exhale. She could hear Stefan descending the stairs and make his way to her exhausted. He sat down next to her and placed a comforting hand on her knee.

"It wasn't your fault Care." He said gently, sensing her distress. She gave a quick laugh in disbelief. He turned to look at her for a moment before turning back to stare ahead. She could see that he was drained from all of the events.

"It was mine." He said confidently. Caroline rolled her eyes and laughed again.

"I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have let her go off without someone to watch over her Stefan." Caroline said full of loathing for her inaction.

"You didn't Care. You called me and then we both went along to look out for her. You're a good friend."

"Not good enough it seems." Caroline murmured to herself.

"You couldn't have known." Stefan said squeezing her knee.

"I should have Stefan. Don't try and make me feel better about it. I've known her my whole life and I should have known she was unstable." They both sat in silence for a moment. "And now Damon is…" she ventured.

"Damon will be fine." Stefan stated, unwillingly to discuss Damon's condition any further it seemed. "He knew what he was getting himself into."

"Why didn't he stop her Stefan? I don't understand why he let her do that to him." Another tear fell down her face. She knew exactly why he let her but she still couldn't fully contemplate its meaning. Stefan sighed a long tired sigh and sat forward putting his elbows on his knees and cradling his head in his hands.

"Because he loves her." He said. Caroline nodded in agreement. "And she loves him."

"Yeah, I think she does." Caroline bit her lip, unsure of how Stefan was dealing with this fact. Stefan pulled back and sat back into the sofa. He was gazing at the ceiling in thought. Caroline copied his movements.

"What's going to happen?" Caroline asked sincerely, aware that Elena was coming around in the cellar.

"We have to let them figure that out." He said calmly.

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The throb in Elena's head brought her back to consciousness. She felt like she had the worst hangover in the universe. She groaned holding her head and sitting up. It was too bright, her eyes pinched closed as she tried to figure out where she was. It was cold and damp and she was sitting on concrete. She opened her eyes slowly, adjusting to the light and realised she was in the cellar. How did she get here? She tried to call for Stefan but her throat was like sand paper. She coughed trying to clear it and leant against the wall for support as she stood up. The room tilted slightly so she kept her hand on the wall to steady her. Everything was a muddle. She tried to recall the last memory she had. Stefan had vervained her! Why had he done that? She had had no idea just how unpleasant it was. It kind of made her feel bad for all of the times she had inflicted it on others, especially Damon.

Damon.

Every kick, bite and attack she had made on him suddenly flushed back into her mind with such ferocity that she stumbled into the wall that had been supporting her weight. Suddenly there was no air in the entire world enough to fill her lungs. She screamed as loud as her lungs would allow.

"Stefan!"

In a flash both Stefan and Caroline were at the door, looking in through the bars, as Elena rushed and battered into the door.

"Stefan, Damon is he…" She spluttered trying to bring herself down from having a nervous breakdown. She must have looked like a wild animal.

Caroline stepped forward trying to calm her but still not unlocking the door. "Elena you have to calm down, calm down!"

"Where is he?" Elena looked frantically from one face to the other looking for answers.

"He's ok, Elena, he's ok." Caroline shushed her, which seemed to work. Elena was starting to get a hold of herself. Damon was ok, thank god!

"He's resting Elena, so you have to chill and stop shouting or you'll wake him." Stefan's word held authority without anger and she blinked a few times as she returned her breathing to normal. She didn't want to wake Damon if he was healing. God, what had she done to him? She took a few deep breaths as tears started to fall.

"Is he badly hurt?" She whispered looking down at her hands in shame. She didn't want to look at them for fear their eyes would reflect back their disgust at what a monster she had become. Stefan huffed lightly and she looked up them. She had to know.

Caroline and Stefan were looking at each other as though trying to decide what they should tell her. She placed her hands on the bars of the window, awaiting their response. Caroline couldn't lie, she was always honest with her so she directed her intent gaze in Caroline's direction. Caroline blushed under the intensity of Elena's attention and cleared her throat.

"He's pretty messed up. It was a close call I think." Caroline admitted, Stefan shot her a look of warning and she shrugged at him. "She should know the truth." Stefan turned his head to look away from both of them, to give them some semblance of privacy.

"I nearly killed him." Elena stated blankly. She could feel the urge to hide away this pain again. She wanted to feel numb.

"You didn't though. He's strong, he will heal. It's going to be ok." Caroline comforted and placed her hands over Elena's' on the bars. The physical contact stirred Elena's' heart once more and she cried silently as she clung to her friends hands through the bars. Caroline started crying too. After a few moments Elena realised that Stefan was still there, leaning back against the wall. He had tears in his eyes.

"Stefan I'm so sorry." Elena cried. "I can't believe the person I've become. I never wanted to hurt anyone especially you. And Damon…he's your brother, I'm so sorry." Stefan nodded as tears fell down his cheeks too.

"This wasn't all your fault Elena. You're still trying to understand your new nature and I didn't help with matters." He paused as he dried his eyes and tried to stand up straight again. "I was so angry with both of you, I've made his life hell since we broke up."

"What do you mean?" She sniffled. He came closer to the bars as Caroline released her hold on Elena and stepped back to allow them to have some space. Caroline looked up at the ceiling as she heard Damon stir. She should go check on him. Elena and Stefan were having an intense moment so she thought they wouldn't notice as she snuck away to temper the beast upstairs.