A/N: I can only apologize profusely that this has taken me so long to update but I hope to update more regularly now. Hopefully weekly, at the very worse every two weeks. Enjoy :)

Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries.

Kol's P.O.V

Kol observed the unconscious girl in front of him. He found his anger was suddenly evaporating as he studied her fragile frame. She looked so small and vulnerable lying on the ground. Had it been anyone else he would be contemplating ways to punish them right now. What was so different about this girl? Or was it something different about him? He needed to clear his head and go think, but first he needed to get her back to the house.

He knelt down and picked her up, marveling at how light she seemed in his arms. He got back to the house in record time, taking care not to jostle her too much. She now had a head injury after all. He deposited her on her bed before turning her head to assess her wound. The bleeding had ceased and there shouldn't be any permanent damage. Why did he feel so relived by that?

He went to take care of the body of the girl that he had fed on; making sure to lock the doors and windows this time. He had noticed the open window upstairs. It took bravery for a human to risk a drop that large, he found himself thinking, mildly impressed. He wouldn't have to worry about another escape attempt in the next few hour, he thought. She would most likely be unconscious for a while yet.

He ran through the woods yet again and arrived at the clearing. He loaded the body of the girl into the boot of the car and tried to ignore the scent of Elena's blood staining the tree he had thrust her against. He regarded the body with regret, he had killed her right in front of Elena. As if she wasn't disgusted with him enough already. He slammed the boot and drove off towards the nearest ravine. The drive at least gave him time to think.

What was so different about this girl? Was it that Petrova charm that always had men falling to their knees? He'd never been affected by it before. But Elena was not like her ancestors. She was innocence and purity where they had been malice and selfishness. From what he had heard of her past actions from his brothers she was completely selfless; always putting those she cares about before herself. The same loved ones who would do anything to save her, be it from his brothers plans for her or himself, they risked their lives without a second thought. The loyalty which she inspires alone is a testament to her character.

He hadn't thought such things about a person in centuries. Then what, did he care for her? He was certainly more interested in her than he should be. And what if he did, what would he do about it? Let her go? He couldn't. His pride at least wouldn't let him. Perhaps he could talk to her, come to an understanding. This needn't be overly unpleasant for her. But how? She would hate him more than ever now. He would have to do something to appease her a little.

He was pulled out of his thoughts as he arrived at the ravine. He found some rocks to weight down the body and simply threw her in; too preoccupied to bother with anything more sophisticated at the moment.

He spent the journey home trying to think of a way to gain Elena's trust. Or at least a way to get her to think of him as more than just the monster who had kidnapped her.

When he got back he found Elena still unconscious. He checked her over, there was a raised lump on her head and her ankle had swollen to at least double it's original size. He decided to once again give her some blood to aid with the healing process. It was the least he could do really. He bit his wrist and allowed some blood to trickle into her mouth.

"We have got to stop doing this, darling." He muttered to her even though she couldn't hear him.

Elena's POV

Elena awoke to light streaming through the window and surprisingly little pain. She stretched her body, testing it out.

It was then that she became aware of a presence beside her. Kol sat in a chair by her bed; watching her. She automatically flinched back from him, grabbing the covers and holding them to herself. An expression she didn't quite understand crossed his face. Was it regret?

"You don't need to be afraid." He said in a quiet tone, "I'm not going to hurt you."

Elena looked at him, distrust clear in her expression.

"Really, I mean it. I feel it would be better for us to come to an agreement."

"What kind of agreement?" Elena said finding her voice at last.

"It's simple, really. If you agree to stop trying to escape me, I will allow you to have contact with your friends and family, barring the Salvatores, of course. Provided that you don't tell them anything which could lead to them finding us."

"And all I have to do is stop trying to get away?" Asked Elena, still skeptical.

"Yes, do you agree to this?" She hesitated, it seemed too good. There was still the possibility that Kol would hurt her; she was completely at his mercy here and he hadn't said anything about her own safety. But, it's not like trying to get away has got me anywhere she though, coming to a decision. She wouldn't be able to try again anyway so she might as well make the best of the situation.

"Yes" She said, finally.

"Good, I'll leave you to get ready. Then you can use my phone to make your calls."

"Why not mine?"

"Mine isn't traceable and I destroyed yours the night you called Damon." He left after giving her an almost apologetic look.

She quickly showered and dressed and glanced at the clock to find that it was actually mid-afternoon. She headed downstairs and found Kol in the kitchen. He handed her the phone without comment and even left for the living room to give her the illusion of privacy. His recent change in behavior bore further consideration later but now she had more important things to deal with. She mentally prepared herself for a moment before dialing Jeremy's number from memory. It rang for a few seconds before he answered.

"Hello?"

"Jer? Hey, it's me."

"Elena, oh my god! It's you! Are you ok?"

"Yeah Jer, I'm fine." She said, smiling to herself.

"Where are you? We'll come and get you."

"No, you can't!" She said, urgently trying to get him to understand. "Kol will hurt you."

"Elena, I'm not just leaving you at the mercy of a one thousand year old vampire."

"You have to Jer, there's no other option. Please, don't do anything stupid. Besides he wont hurt me." She flinched at this last bit, not sure if it was true at all. It took a while but Jeremy eventually dropped the issue and changed the subject.

They spent a few minutes talking about random, unimportant things. Jeremy made her laugh, he seemed to sense that she needed normality more than anything.

The conversations with all of her friends passed in pretty much the same fashion, first the worry and then inconsequential talk. When she was finished she felt happier than she had since she had been taken. She took the phone back to Kol in the living room.

"Thank you" She told him, really meaning it. She even smiled at him.

"Your welcome" He replied, looking slightly startled. He smiled back at her and it was different than his usual smirk, more genuine. It was nice.

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