AN: Sorry for the long wait, I'm still here and planning on updating a little sooner next time. Hope you like it. Please let me know what you think and I'll be sure to answer to your comments as soon as possible :)

-D

Eight: Fix The World Up For You

But I've been doing all I can
To stop your falling
Even now I'm holding my breath for you

Damon's POV

When he got to the hospital the night before after the disaster that was his ride with Elena, he thought he was going to go insane. He had made a big mistake; his attempt at being honest had ended up being more than any of them could handle. What had gotten into him the second he told her that he loved her was an enigma. He did love her, but he couldn't be with her, so telling her that he loved her wasn't much of an example of his good judgment.

His way to react to the disaster he had unraveled? Research, work, read and finally come up with an action plan to save Grayson's life, after all it was the only way he could leave this town unharmed.

He arrived at the boarding house in the early hours of the morning, after he had spent all of his night in the hospital working and checking up on Elena every few hours, she obviously couldn't sleep and that was in part his fault. Why would he be so stupid to confess a love that didn't change the fact that he couldn't be with her?

Damon went up the stairs to the room that was temporarily assigned to Lexie carrying a tray of breakfast goods. He opened the door trying to be as quiet as possible and finally sat down next to her on bed. He moved her hair out of her face with a gentle touch and slowly whispered in her ear.

"Good morning beautiful" She moved a bit, but was apparently still dreaming. "I brought you some breakfast and some loving on the side" He said trying to be corny knowing that if she was awake she wouldn't hesitate to make fun of him. Lexie opened her eyes gently and gave him a startled look, she pushed herself up and moved a bit away from him before speaking.

"What are you doing here?" She stated simply.

"Well I'm bringing my girl some food" He replied confused by her mood.

"So now I'm your girl? Even though you stood me up completely yesterday and didn't even bother to call" Damon stood up abruptly and began pacing the room.

"Shit" He muttered "Lex I completely forgot I was at the hospital and it was a bit hectic so-"

"You said you wanted to have diner you said you we're going to pick me up and I waited for you like a damn fool. I'm not even your girlfriend Damon, this is the time in the relationship when you're supposed to do everything right, what the hell is wrong with you?" She looked at him trying to remain composed, but he knew that his mistake was getting to her.

"I screwed up, I'm so sorry. Look ill make it up to you. In fact I came here to get some things before I go back to the hospital but babe after tomorrow a lot is going to change. There's so much we have to talk about" He said first pleadingly and then letting his excitement for the future they could have together show.

"Just tell me something were you with her?" She said simply, waiting for his response to probably analyze the hell out of it Damon thought.

"I'm treating her father Lex, I'm spending-"He began saying, he didn't want to lie to her, also saying the complete truth wouldn't help his case at all.

"That was not my question. Were you alone with Elena at some point last night?" Lexie said sharply not letting him even justify his answered.

"Yes" He said knowing she would just dismiss whatever else he tried to say.

"Great" She said standing up from the bed and heading to the closet, she took out a suitcase and began filling it with clothes "Go back to the hospital, forget about this. I'm heading home"

"No, no wait Lex, it's not like that Elena and I, and we're never going to be back together. I told you I want you" Damon tried, knowing well the battle was already lost.

"You want me because you can't have her. I tried to trust you Damon you said you wouldn't hurt me, so I'm revoking your chance to do so. Goodbye" She said in an indifferent tone and without even looking at him, so caught up in her packing that she basically kicked him out of his own house.

He stood there for a couple of minutes analyzing how to approach the situation, maybe if he stayed and waited for her to calm down he could talk her out of leaving, and that way he could get a chance to change her mind about leaving him. But deep down he knew that wouldn't happen, the thing about Lexie and him was that they were too similar in some ways, the worst ways, in this case her stubbornness and lack of trust in him were going to keep them apart probably for good.

"Hey what happened? Was she yelling at you?" His brother said when he came out of the room and closed the door behind him.

"She was dear brother" Damon responded nonchalantly, not knowing what else to say, he couldn't exactly explain the issue to his unknowing brother, not that he would anyway.

"What for? Did you break up?" He asked worriedly, but Damon was almost sure it was more for his best friend's sake than for his.

"We weren't exactly together so I guess she didn't. But if what you are asking is if she will ever willingly fuck me again I guess not" He replied heading towards his room with Stefan hot on his heels.

"Was that supposed to shut me up? Come on, whatever you did was too fast even for you, I gave you at least a month in the bet we did at the bar" Stefan mentioned casually, as if Damon love life was really just a way for them to have fun.

"You were betting on my relationship? Why am I not surprised?" He responded indignantly.

"Because it's something you would have done yourself" Stefan replied smirking, Damon just wanted to punch him in the face so hard. In his mind that would make everything okay.

"Oh look Steffy is going badass, are you under the influence again little bro?" Damon commented completely aware on the effect the subject had on his brother.

"Damon, there's no need to go there" He responded passive-aggressively.

"I'm sorry to bring up the fact that you have an alcohol problem you're unable to accept" The eldest Salvatore said while taking a clean change of clothes and various articles from this wardrobe. He didn't need to face his brother to know he was giving him a death glare.

"No one is ever going to be able to put up with all your crap, you're going to be alone for life" Said Stefan glancing at him indignantly one last time before leaving the room and slamming the door on his way out. People always got so touchy when you talked about real issues, wasn't being honest the best policy? It wasn't working out for him so well lately; he would have to change his strategy.

Damon drove his blue Camaro out of the gates of the Salvatore property with a thousand things running through his mind, or better yet a thousand people, Elena, Grayson, Lexie, Stefan all this people that were affected by every single thing he did lately. He cared about Lexie, he wanted to love her, he wanted to be able to make her happy but his heart was distracted and occupied with the presence of a certain brunette that wouldn't leave some vacancy for any other girl. The way he saw it the next time he tried to get involved with someone it would have to be a person he didn't care for at all, that way if things went wrong he wouldn't feel as guilty as he felt now. Hurting Lexie, because even if she was acting all tough he knew he did, was the last thing he had intended and there he was succeeding at making it happen.

The loud ringtone of his cellphone starlet him out of his thoughts, he pick up with a smile after seeing who the caller was.

"Little Gilbert, future colleague, former little brother. What can I do for you?" He said feigning good humor.

"Hey D, so my sister told me you have some kind of treatment for my dad? Could you maybe elaborate on that?" Jeremy replied enthusiastic about his father new found shot at life.

"Of course men, I'm on my way to the hospital right now. Meet me at my office in ten, and please get Elena too I'm going to need her help with something" He replied immediately.

"Sure thing dude, see you in ten" Said Jeremy ending the call.

Damon arrived at the hospital and went directly to his office, Elena was waiting outside of his door with a very tired look, this time he had a hunch it wasn't just her father condition that had kept her up all night, he wasn't trying to be arrogant but he was pretty sure he was a top issue for her at the moment. He was going to make things right, like he told her yesterday he would just act as if nothing ever happened. Maybe that way she could go back to her life and forget all about it.

"Elena" He said as a greeting opening the door for her to go in "Where's little Gilbert?" Having Jeremy there would have made everything easier.

"He decided to stay with mom" Elena replied siting at one of the visitor's chairs while he opened up the file and sat down across from her.

"Well let's go straight to the point then, as I told you yesterday I-"He began but she obviously cut him off before he could even being his explanation.

"Damon can we please talk about it? Before we get into this" She mentioned trying to catch his stare.

"There's absolutely nothing to talk about other than your father's health as far as I'm concerned" He said roughly looking her straight in the eyes, if he had to act all tough, he'll do it he was a pro at being perceive as the bad guy anyway.

"You know there was this small part of me that thought you had finally grown up, but I guess we're back at square one. Avoiding the problem" She said with a sigh, she didn't looked angry or defeated either, she just seemed really annoyed by him.

"Let's make a deal I save your father today and we don't talk about our problem" He said making air quotes with his hands, he looked actually pretty ridiculous doing it but he didn't care as long as she forgot all about the subject "at least until he is awake and kicking me out of the room alright?"

"It's not like I have any say in the matter anyway" She responded knowing him far too well.

"Perfect, now on to the important stuff. I'm not going to annoy you with all the medical specifics but basically your father has caught an unusual infection and I'm going to be using an experimental treatment that they're developing at Harvard med. I called them yesterday and they offered to send somebody with experience to help out, I said we didn't have the time so they just walked me through the procedure a couple times. I'm pretty confident this would work, and unfortunately we are running out of time as I already mentioned, so if you agree with me, I think we should go ahead and do this" He concluded looking expectantly at Elena. "So?" Damon asked a minute after when she was still looking at him wordlessly.

"I'll have to talk to my mom about it, but you're the doctor I trust you with this so I'm on board"

"Ok, so this is what I need from you to make this happen, go talk to your mom get her to sign this petition to the hospital board and see me at the meeting room upstairs in 20 minutes. They won't think this is a good idea so I'll need you to tell them how much your father deserves this chance and how much you think I can do it. I'll need your best performance Elena, give your acting school talents some use" He finished and she looked like she didn't appreciate much his last comment.

"I don't need to act to make them understand my desperation for my father to get better or to make them know I believe in you either" Elena replied confidently.

"Great so go on, I'm going to get some help while you talk to your mom" He said getting up and opening the door for her once again, she headed for the elevator while he went to other way to the cafeteria.

"I need your help" He said to his best friend who looked at him unimpressed.

"Why do I have the feeling you're about to ask me something I'm not going to be comfortable doing" He said knowingly.

"Because I am, Rick I need assistance there's not a dam person in this hospital that gives a crap about Grayson Gilbert's health, or at least they don't care enough to help out. I need someone in there with me, I swear your name won't appear anywhere if this doesn't work out but I need you buddy" He said hurriedly knowing well that time was what he didn't have.

"I can't believe I'm agreeing to this, I can't believe you're putting your career on the line for her" He responded rubbing his eyes carelessly.

"That's not why I'm doing it" Damon stated strongly, Rick let out a laugh in return.

"It might not be the only reason but I'm pretty confident is the stronger you have, you want to play the hero for her, at least this once" His best friend sometimes knew his hidden intentions before he figured them out. Deep down Damon knew that even if he wouldn't be with her, having her happy and well was important for him. Saving her father was the best present he could give her before disappearing from her life forever.

"Shut it Ric, go get ready, I'm doing a little pit stop on the board reunion see you in 30 minutes tops" He said simply because one he was tired of being a sentimental guy, and two because frankly he couldn't admit to his friend that he could be right about his motives.

Damon headed to the conference room, Elena was once again waiting outside for him, for a second he thought how he was going to miss having her around this much, even like this, she gave him an encouraging smile and just like that he went in with her made his point, explained the procedure and hoped that the were as set on saving Grayson as he was.

"So this is why we need you to help me keep Doctor Gilbert alive, you know as well as I do that he deserves everything we can do for him. So forget about the possibility of the bad outcome and have hope like I do that he's going to respond well to this" He declared closing his little speech with a million dollar smile, that he later realized wouldn't charm anyone considering most of the presents were men in their 50s with no attraction to him whatsoever.

"Dr. Salvatore is this goes south, your career and the hospitals name are on the line are you aware of that fact?" Said one of the oldest doctors, he believed his name was Frank or something; he was used to see him around the cafeteria but never had a real conversation with him before.

"Yes I am. I will face whatever outcome if this goes wrong, which like I said before it won't, we can make something up you can say it was all my fault we can get the hospitals name out of it" He said firmly, knowing well that the ultimate concerned of a hospital board was to make sure the said hospital didn't get bad press.

"I'm not sure you should be risking your career for this" Said Alaric standing up to make this statement more dramatic. It was kind of illogical for his friend to speak out even if moments before he had confirmed his participation on such procedure. Maybe he was trying to give him an out for the last time.

"It's not up to you, like I said it's going to go well, he's going to live" Damon repeated for the umpteenth time on the past couple of minutes.

"What do you think Miss Gilbert? Do you agree with this?" Maybe-Frank asked looking at Elena expectantly. Did he really believe the daughter of the patient in discussion was going to refuse his help?

"Yes, I want to give a try but I don't think that Damon should take the fault for this is my dad doesn't make it, it's too much" She said looking at him with her big brown eyes full of worry.

"What do you propose?" Dr. Lockwood, head of the hospital board, asked.

"She doesn't have a say in the matter like I said before, this is my decision. Grayson did a lot for me when I was younger, I wouldn't even be a doctor if it wasn't for him so I take all responsibility. Now stop wasting my time and give me the ok to go save his life" He snapped looking far more annoyed than he was a few minutes before, how many times did Damon had to tell this people to let him do his job? They were acting like Grayson was just anybody, not one of the most brilliant doctors in the damned hospital.

"We need your signature in a couple or papers just in case" Dr. Lockwood concluded after a minute of silence.

"Sure whatever where do I sign?" He asked instantly, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible.

"You'll have to wait for our legal department to make an appropriate document with some confidentiality clauses and such" The doctor explained calmly, as if he didn't understand what the rush was all about.

"I don't have time for this shit, give some blank sheets" He said cursing unconsciously in front of every authority figure in the hospital.

"I don't advice you to do that" Maybe-Frank said looking at him disapprovingly.

"I don't care, here" He began singing about 10 pieces of paper and gave then back to Dr. Lockwood "You can do whatever you want with those. I'm going to go prep my patient. Thanks for your cooperation gentleman" Damon stormed out of the conference room and felt Elena and Alaric hot on his heels. He didn't want to keep talking about the damned procedure, he wanted to do it, he wanted to save Grayson once and for all and get back to his life. Stop living in the town that reminded him of every people who disappointed him, he was breathing heavily when he got to the elevator doors but of course as faith/karma or whatever reigned the universe would have it, the elevator wasn't there and Elena and Alaric caught up to him before he could get in. They all stepped inside, they were alone and Damon was doing his best to avoid eye contact with either of them.

"You're too emotional right know Damon, you can't do this procedure until you calm down" Ric said softly like he was talking to a mental patient that was about to commit suicide.

"I will be fine" Damon responded evasively.

There was a silence and he figured Ric and Elena had a silent discussion about what to do next because Ric suddenly pressed the next floor bottom and got off the elevator, leaving him all alone with Elena. She stood closer to him than before and suddenly took his hand in hers, he tried hard not to look at her but ultimately it was an impossible task. Immediately after he let his eyes wander to her she cleared her throat. Here we go he thought.

"Do you have any idea how reckless you're being right now? You're acting like a spoiled child who just wants to get his way no matter what the outcome is. Your career it the most important thing to you Damon, I know that and because of it I cannot let you do this. I-"He cut her off before she could continue her little selfless speech.

"Stop" He said letting a few seconds go by before continuing "I know you're good Elena, I know you want what's best for people and I know you feel a bit guilty about what happened to us back them, but I'm the one who's not going to let you turn my help down. Your father needs me, you need me. This is something I can do, I know what the consequences will be if I fail. I'm not planning on failing, I don't fail on medicine, and I don't let people die and most of all I don't let your father die. Ever. Especially not without a fight" He finished and a tear was rushing down her cheek and they were having a very intimate moment, he felt closer to her than he had since he came back, all this was happening in an elevator, the doors would open when they hit the ground floor and the moment will be gone, as they will be gone, this was goodbye even if she had no idea yet.

"Thank you" He was about to object but she was the one who didn't let him speak up this time "Let me say it, because I feel it. There isn't another person in this world that would have done this, for him and for me. I'm not saying the L word, because I now you wouldn't want me to. But let me say thank you and let yourself believe that I mean it more than anything" Damon looked at their still joined hands, and he wanted to think like a poet that their hands fit perfectly together, but instead he just thought about how even if it wasn't a perfect fit, he wouldn't change it for the world, and ironically he was giving up. He was doing his part on helping her out and then he would be gone, out of this town, out her life and far away from the hands that held his imperfectly.

And just like that the doors opened after what felt like a century or maybe a minute, and he let go of her hand and she removed the tears from her cheeks the best she could, they began walking to the final round of their time together. The last chapter of Damon's life in Mystic Fall, for better or for worse. He was either going to become a hero or the murderer of the man he once thought as his own father. The last thought that came to his mind before going in to inform Mrs. Gilbert and Jeremy of the situation was: No matter what happens, tomorrow it will be all over.

I, oh I, I'm gonna fix this world up for you
I'll try, I'll try to build it all around you
You'll never gonna have to be alone