Stefan POV:

Stefan looked up from the book. His brother was breathing quietly, fast asleep. He tucked him in and left the room, turning off the light. He really hoped that there'd be no more outbursts tonight. As annoying as he could be, Stefan hoped his brother would return to normal soon. Taking care of him was too much work.

He walked slowly down the stairs only to find that Jackie and Elena had returned.

"Stefan! Hey!" Elena shouted. She was clearly a little bit tipsy.

"How much did you drink?" He asked her, quite amused.

"I don't know, only a few bottles." She replied, her words slurred. She stumbled over toward him and fell into his arms. Stefan laughed. He'd never seen Elena drunk.

"How about we go to bed?" He suggested. She giggled and nodded. Stefan picked her up and carried her, bridal style, to the bedroom. He lay her down on the bed and removed her shoes. By the time he made it into bed, Elena was snoring. He laughed before quickly falling asleep.

Damon POV:

Damon opened his eyes. He suddenly decided he wanted to play in the snow. Why did he want to play in the snow? Damon had no idea. He had an urge and Damon was used to following his urges. He walked down the hall and found Stefan's room. Was his brother asleep? Oh, well. –Damon thought. He wasn't going to be asleep for long.

Damon eased the door open and entered the room. Stefan's room was much different in the dark. It was also a lot bigger than he remembered it, for obvious reasons. He crept to the bed, towards Stefan's sleeping form.

"Stefan!" He whispered, tugging on Stefan's arm. "Stefan, wake up!"

"Uuuuuh." Stefan moaned. "What time is it?"

"It's ten thirty in the morning. I want to play outside." Damon told him.

"What? Why?"

"I don't know. I just do. Will you come?"

"Fine, but you owe me for this one." Stefan answered. Damon smiled and left his brother in peace. He ran back to his room and found warm clothes. Man, Stefan really thought of everything when he went shopping… -he thought, awed. There were even boots! Damon threw everything on and ran down the stairs, almost tripping in the process. He knew Stefan would come eventually, so he went outside.

Damon walked out the door and stopped. The sun was shining and the ground was full of sparkling snow. A bit like that Edward Cullen guy! I'm so glad I don't sparkle…that's so fruity. –Damon thought randomly. He jumped into a big pile of the fluffy white stuff. Then, he set to work building a snowman. He began to roll a small ball of snow along the ground until it grew and grew. Then, it was the perfect size for the bottom part. He noticed some of the neighborhood boys come out to play. Damon heard them yelling something at him. He ignored them and started rolling a second ball.

"Hey, baby!" He heard one of them yell. "Watcha makin'?" Damon scowled. If only he had his Powers, he could knock this boy flat on his back. Instead, he kept quiet and worked on his snowman.

"What? You can't talk? Maybe this'll help!" Another one said. Damon felt something cold and wet hit him square in the back of the head. It hurt a bit. He turned towards the group of boys, glaring.

"Awww. Did we make the little baby mad?" Said the first boy, presumably the leader of the attack.

"No, but I'd like it very much if you left my yard." Damon replied icily.

"Ooooh, he'd like it very much, boys!" The leader, again. Damon glanced toward the door, hoping Stefan was on his way. He knew he couldn't fight off five boys without his Powers. Being human sucks! –he thought.

"My brother'll be out here any minute!" Damon threatened. It sounded pathetic even to his own ears.

"He's got a brother, eh? Well, I guess we'll just have to make this quick!" Damon had taken to calling the big one that talked "The Leader". It seemed appropriate. The Leader whispered something to his red-headed friend. Suddenly, the ginger boy ran at Damon's half-completed snowman. The boy destroyed it. Damon was angry. He'd worked hard on that. As the boy, who looked remarkably like Ron Weasley, stamped on the remains of his snowman, The Leader motioned to two others. They lifted Damon into the air. He was hanging by his ankles in an uncomfortable position. Damon felt his cheeks grow hot. This was humiliating. He wasn't sure whether he wanted Stefan to come and stop it or stay in the house and not see it.

"Not so tough now, huh?" Sneered The Leader. "How about we go for a walk." The boys carried Damon. He didn't have a clue where they were going. All he knew was that he, Damon, was defenseless. He was never defenseless! Damon couldn't remember a situation ever looking so bleak. The boys walked for a long time. They went into the woods. Damon's fingers were growing numb. His head felt like it was about to explode. He began to yell.

"Help! Help me!" Damon yelled. A boy shoved a hand over his mouth, stifling his cries for help. Well, there goes that plan. –Damon thought. Then, they stopped.

They were standing in a small clearing. The sun was shining on the snow. It would've been a very beautiful place had he not been hanging by his ankles. A small, yet deep, creek ran through the clearing. Damon had a bad feeling about all of it. The boys holding him walked down until they were next to the creek.

"Do you like to swim?" asked The Leader. Damon nodded his head, smiling. Better to act brave. They wouldn't really dip him into a creek in the dead of winter, would they?

"Well, as long as you asked for it. Go ahead, boys!" The boys holding Damon slowly lowered him towards the freezing water. It wasn't quite the right temperature for it to be frozen. Damon whimpered involuntarily. Then, his head touched the surface. It was cold. The water was colder than anything he'd ever felt in all of his existence. The boys lowered him still further into the freezing water. Damon could no longer remember who he was or what he was doing. His only thought was to get out. He kicked out at the boys, who dropped him immediately. That hadn't been a smart idea. Damon fell the rest of the way into the creek. He was drenched and freezing. Then, he heard a sound that made him freeze. Damon turned around. His brother was standing in the clearing, snarling, fangs out.

"Get away from my brother, you little bastards!" The boys scattered. Damon clambered out of the creek. He was no longer cold. In fact, he was very warm.

"Holy crap, you're turning blue!" Stefan exclaimed. He grabbed Damon and ran towards home. Damon couldn't help but notice the feeling of the wind in his hair. He felt like he was floating. They reached the house and Stefan bolted to the front door. As soon as they were inside, he put Damon on the couch and sprinted away. Damon sat, wondering why his brother was so worried. So, he was blue. Cool. He could be like an Avatar!

Stefan returned with some clothes and blankets. He stripped Damon's wet clothes off and threw on his warm pajamas. Only then did Damon realize how cold he truly was. He began to shake. It felt like he was having a seizure. Stefan was running his hands up and down Damon's body, trying to create friction. It wasn't working. Damon was very cold. Stefan grabbed some blankets and wrapped him in them. Still, Damon shivered. He was getting very sleepy. His eyes began to droop.

"Damon, you can't fall asleep!" He heard Stefan tell him.

"Mmm. But, I'm so tired." He replied groggily. He let his eyes closed. Stefan slapped him.

"Ow! What was that?!" Damon shouted, angry. He wondered, distractedly, if that was considered child abuse. Well, he wasn't exactly a child…

"I told you not to fall asleep." Stefan replied.

"Well, why the hell not?! I'm tired." Damon told him.

"If you fall asleep, you might pass out. Warm up first."

"Fine, but when I'm warm I'm going to sleep." Damon announced. Stefan laughed.

Stefan POV:

When he'd found Damon was missing, Stefan thought he'd just wandered off. That seemed something Damon would do. Then, he smelled a new scent. That was when he really began to worry. He followed the trail and came to the clearing. He stood behind a tree, watching. Damon, suspended by his ankles, was being slowly dipped into a creek in freezing cold weather. Then, Damon kicked at them. They dropped him in the water. It was time to intervene.

Stefan felt his fangs lengthen as his anger grew. He leapt out from behind the tree, growling as he did so. The kids screamed and scattered. He watched as his brother climbed out of the water, soaking wet and turning colors. Stefan grabbed him and ran him home. Damon seemed confused. He kept falling asleep so Stefan hit him. Oh, how the tables had turned. Stefan used to be the younger brother. He was the one who argued about stupid things. He was the one with no responsibility and an older brother to look out for him. He was the one who could afford to be carefree. He was the one that needed saving. Now, it was the other way around. Damon was the younger brother. He needed Stefan. He needed Stefan to save him. Damon was the weak one. It was a strange concept, Damon as the weaker Power. But, at the moment, it was true. The more Stefan thought about it, the more he understood Damon's reasoning. Of course he wouldn't want to have been there for Stefan. It was hard work taking care of a younger brother. Damon was, essentially, a very lazy guy and Stefan could understand why he'd gotten fed up with him.

He looked over at his brother who, despite his warnings, had fallen asleep. Oh well, he seems fine. Stefan picked him up and took him back upstairs to his room. New rule: no more playing outside.

AN: I told you I'd use some of your ideas. Thanks to Death'sAngel18 for the great idea! Keep up the good reviews. They make me smile!