This one isn't as long as the last couple have been but I still hope you find it to your liking. Please enjoy and leave me some feedback! If you have any suggestions feel free to message me and those who have thank you so much! I hope I have credited you and if not feel free to let me know and I shall!

Stefan and Damon searched through Elena's room for anything that seemed to out of place or simply missing. She was right about the fact that her picture was missing. When Stefan checked her bathroom he took note of her brush being gone as well.

"Son of a bitch." Damon muttered as he scrounged.

"What is your problem now?" Stefan asked feeling his frustration bubble.

"Does it not bother you?"

"What exactly is supposed to be bothering me?"

Damon could tell that Stefan's emotional defense was down but that didn't stop him from powering forward.

"That these two…. They just show and Elena gets swept off her feet and you don't want to do anything about it?"

"It's not that I don't Damon, but I cannot force Elena to come back to me. I can't. I am here for her when she wants me." Stefan said digging through a drawer.

"You know, I never took you for the roll over and be whipped Edward type. The things you learn about family." Damon said his eyebrows floating upward and back down in annoyance.

"What do you want me to say Damon? I am going to force her to be with me? Torture her till she realizes that she should be mine? No, that won't happen, because then all she'll do it hate me."

Damon turned to face his brother, eyes wild. He knew that Stefan's growing exasperation caused him to spout daggers at him occasionally.

"What are you trying to say to me Stefan?"

"Nothing," He hung his head, running a hand through his hair. "I am not saying anything other than do not push me because as much as I'd like to say I am unaffected by these guys, I'm not. Ok?" His hands had moved to his hips.

"Huh," Damon said eyeing him up and down, reading his body language.

The two continued to scour her room completely unaware of what had been taking place back at their home.

The morning light shown through Dean's window, waking him from his hour long nap. He rolled himself upward and wiped the little stream of drool that had slipped from his lips. He tried to remember the last thing he did before passing out but all his memory from the night before was filled with the soft mouth of a woman. He scratched his head wondering what had driven him so wild to kiss Bella. Why would he do that when he absolutely hated the girl? Then again he knew there was a secret attraction that simmered there, and was built on the fact that they so thoroughly despised each other. The whole love/hate relationship. Dean always found little attachments like that to be fun. Most of the time anyway. In Bella's case it was just down right annoying.

Dean took in the large room with the king sized bed. He frowned after a moment of disorientation. It wasn't Bella. It was Rose. She had come to check on him. To see if there was anything going on. Dean stood and walked over to his duffle and began rummaging around in it. He threw off his grey t-shirt in exchange for a black one and didn't bother changing his jeans. When he finished he walked to the door to get Sam. As he opened it he came face to face with a man he'd never seen before in his life. The man's hand was poised to knock.

Dean frowned and cocked his head to the side trying to recognize anything about the man. Of course, he did not.

"Can I help you?" He finally said growing aggravated with the silence.

"Yes, I am looking for Elena. I know she is here somewhere."

The man shook his head ever so slightly to remove the dark bangs that had fallen into his brown eyes. He held his back straight and carried with him an air that meant zero nonsense.

"What do you need her for?" Dean said coming to the startling conclusion that he very well may have been face to face with one of the originals. The first thing Dean could think was that one he was alone and anyone in the house could have been dead. Two he was unarmed other than the blade in his boot, which up against a vampire probably wouldn't do any good for him. Finally, he looked into the man's eyes and saw that this man would have no problem killing him if he didn't walk lightly. Then again, that was never Dean's way.

"That is her business and not yours, so I suggest that you simply answer my question and I will be lenient with you." His voice held traces of a foreign accent but Dean couldn't place its origin.

"Actually, it kind of is. You see I have a job to protect that girl, so if you want to see her, you sorta have to talk me. See, if you give me the info I want, twinkle toes, I'll be sure to reciprocate in kind. You know, you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours?" Dean offered a humorless smile on his face.

The man looked from Deans feet all the way back up to his face again before speaking. "You are her protection?" He stifled a laugh. "That's absolutely precious but I do not have time for games, so I suggest you tell me what I want to know or very bad things will be happening to you."

"I don't think so." A voice called from behind. It was Damon.

Though Damon could not see who the stranger was he had a very difficult time not defending Dean. Since, after all, there were working together for the common good. Sort of.

The man turned around and Damon frowned. "I killed you. How the hell are you back?"

It was Elijah's turn to smile senselessly. "That's right, you did. However shall I repay you for that kindness?" His smile instantly turned wicked as he moved with super speed to grab a piece of the wooden stairs. He backed Damon into a wall instantly and held his make shift stake up high.

"An eye for an eye, except you probably won't be coming back."

While Elijah made his speech Dean took off for all he was worth and tackled the vampire.

"No!" Elena screamed from the hallway as she realized what had been going on.

Dean rolled off of Elijah and fell limply to the floor. Damon was still frozen to the wall but in seconds his mind finally caught up with the situation.

Dean had saved him.

The sharpened wood stuck out sickeningly from Dean's right lung. Stefan had joined the room in time to see the last few seconds of the scuffle. Elena dropped to her knees in on Dean's side and lifter his head into her lap.

"Dean! Dean, wake up! You have to."

"His eyes fluttered for a second before he could focus. He tried to speak but Elena hushed him.

"Don't talk. It's ok; we can fix this I promise."

He ignored he demand and whispered one word. "Sam."

Sam, who'd been oblivious to the happenings in the hallway just above him turned himself to lie on his back. He was still shirtless from the night prior and the leather felt cool on his back. His eyes opened and he looked at the light flooding in onto the high oak beams of the ceiling. Sam smiled to himself realizing that the boarding house was probably the nicest place his brother and he had stayed in for quite awhile.

He heard Elena scream from the stairs followed by a lot of commotion and sat up. What the hell was going on up there? Sam quickly jumped to his feet and padded out of the room and up the stairs. He could see three men standing at the top of the stairs while Elena was leaning over something. Or someone.

Elena looked up to his approach her eyes displaying her pity. Sam frowned not quite up the stairs yet. He jogged up the remaining steps only to see his brother laying there a wooden object sticking out of his right side.

He slid down to his knees next to his brother. He grabbed Dean from Elena's arms and gently shook him.

"Dean, Dean! Look at me! You have to look at me."

Dean's eyes rolled around in his head before he could focus on his brother. "Sam, I… I am sorry." He whispered.

"Dean, shut up! You aren't dying now." He lifted his brother into his arms, and began trekking down the stairs careful not to jostle him too much. Elena sprang up and followed him. "Why the hell weren't any of you smart enough to call an ambulance?" Sam called over his shoulder anger saturating each word.

Elijah watched the tall stranger carry the one Elena called Dean out the door. He used his vampire speed to catch up and grab a hold of her arm.

"We need to talk." He muttered.

Elena tired to jerk her arm away, though she knew it was no use. "Not now. You may have killed him! I need to know he is alright!" She thrashed in his arms.

"If you want them to live then you had better stop now." Elijah said in his cool manner.

Elena obeyed and watch with pity stabbing her stomach as Sam loaded Dean into the back of the car. Sam shoved himself behind the wheel and took off without so much as look in her direction. She sighed and hoped that Dean would at least make it to the hospital.

Stefan and Damon had wasted no time exiting the house and removing Elena from his grip.

"Don't ever touch her!" Stefan spat.

"Child," Elijah said turning his glare on to its full volume, "I don't take orders from you. This conversation is between the girl and I. You don't need to be apart of this."

"Like hell," Damon said stepping forward.

"Your friend isn't here to save you again, so I would take heed and not attempt to step in." Elijah said glancing to him then resting his eyes on Elena again. "You and I need to talk and if you value their lives you will come with me."

Stefan's hand clutched Elena's elbow tighter. "How do expect us to just let he walk away with you. You are just going to give her to Klaus."

Elena shifted uncomfortably under his touch for he did not realize how much pressure he was actually applying. She tried to pull away and he looked to her as if she'd shocked him.

"You want to go with him?" He demanded.

"No, I want you to let me go. You are hurting me, Stefan." Her voice held so many implications Stefan's hand dropped instantly. She recognized the pain in his expression but she didn't allow herself to dwell on it.

"What do you want? Whatever you tell me I will end up telling them anyway."

Elijah nodded before continuing. "If I wanted to hand the girl over to Klaus she would be there already. Obviously I do not want that. I want you to remain here and live you life happily with the two half wits." He smiled and it almost looked sincere.

"What's the catch?" Elena said eyeing him skeptically.

"Nothing," He said smile still in place.

Elena raised her brows.

"Other than you are my bait. For now, Klaus is going to send whoever's lowest on his totem pole to get you. I will take care of them as I see fit but eventually Klaus will loose his circle of friends. Then when the time comes, I will come for you and you will willingly come with me so I can offer you to Klaus myself."

Elena took an involuntary step backward.

"That'll never happen!" Stefan declared as Damon voiced his, "Not if I kill you first."

"I am not finished yet; hold your tongues before I rip them out. I am going to bring you to him so that while he is distracted with you, I will kill him."

"You'll what?" The three spoke in confused unison.

"I'll kill him. There are only certain vampires he allows close to him and the rest are supposed to live in fear. I refuse to live under that any longer."

Elena considered for a moment. "How do I know that my family will be safe? How do I know you aren't lying to me?"

"You don't." Elijah boldly proclaimed.

"Convenient." Damon muttered.

"Alright, well, I have had many of opportunities to kill both of you," he answered his fingers making a V as he pointed at them on either side of Elena. "But I haven't because I knew she'd never forgive that. I haven't taken her away yet, even though I could have so easily."

"Why haven't you taken her and gone back to kill Klaus yet?" Stefan wondered.

"Because there are still too many of them that are loyal to him. I'd never make it out and I am not ready to die just yet." Elijah answered.

"I still don't think we should trust this clown; he's one of them." Damon's icy blue eyes flashed with fiery anger.

"That's your decision but that either way you still have to play my game by my rules, is that understood?"

Neither Salvatore answered.

"I understand." Elena spoke.

The brothers turned to face her angrily but she ignored them.

"Also, Elena, I believe I have something that is rather important to you." He said reaching behind him for something lying in the backside of his waistband.

The brothers each took a step forward ready to shield her from any sudden attacks. When he brought his hand back around he held a leather bound journal.

"You must understand that in order to find where you were I need to get my hands on a few of your things. The bag we borrowed had this inside. I read it and my, my it is quite the encyclopedia. I'd keep better track of this if I were you."

Elena grabbed at the Winchester journal and nodded her thanks.

"I'll be seeing you lot soon." Elijah smiled before disappearing.

"I don't trust him," Damon announced as if it were new news to anyone. "I don't like this and I don't trust him. Those are never a healthy combination so we can't just bow down to his rules!"

"We have no choice." Stefan argued. "Are we supposed to take on the Originals by ourselves? Hell, he's doing us a favor!"

"You trust him then, Stefan?"

"Of course not, I just don't think we have any other choice. That is all I am saying, alright?"

"That's not good enough. What about our plan, huh? That could still work and then Elena doesn't have to stay up late worrying about the fact that she is just bait to this jackass. We can use that colt they were talking about."

"Yeah, but they may not have enough bullets to take down all those around Klaus. You heard what he said; they are many still loyal to him. We don't have enough man power to take care of all of them do we?"

Damon let out a frustrated grunt before throwing his arms up in defeat. For the first time he took in Elena's posture. She was clutching the journal tight to her chest and her expression was distant.

"Elena what's wrong?" Damon moved to her side instantly and put his hands on her biceps.

Stefan joined him after giving him an eyeful of displeasure.

"What about Dean?"

Sam drove away so anxiously he didn't even notice the bite the cool air gave the naked skin of his upper half. He pushed the petal of the Impala down closer to the floor looking for hospital. In his hurry, he had not asked for directions. When he had done research on the town he the hospital was near the outer west corner but that wasn't exactly the most precise directions. His eyes scanned building after building for what seemed like hours before he finally found what he was looking for.

He parked in front of the emergency entrance and jumped out to carry Dean inside. His mouth was pooled with overflowing blood.

"HELP!" Sam cried. "He needs help now!"

His bold cries were met by many urgent stares and a flood of people around. The nurses immediately brought a stretcher and Sam lightly placed all of Dean's dead weight on it.

"What happened?" A pretty nurse with short black hair asked hurriedly.

"I, I don't know. I woke up, went upstairs and he was laying there with that in his side."

"How long?" She exclaimed knowing that if it had been too long, the man would have no chance of survival.

"He needs an airway!" A doctor from behind them called and Dean's gurney was pulled away.

Sam took a step to follow him but the nurse placed her hands on his chest. She pulled back slightly as if realizing Sam was only wearing a pair of low riding jeans and a pair of black socks.

"You aren't allowed to go back there." She stated.

He looked down pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and fingers. "Please he is my brother. I have…. I have… I have to." He finally managed to say.

"I am sorry but you have to wait here like everyone else."

Sam's upper lip twitched in anger. "You expect me to just sit out there and do nothing?"

"I am sorry, sir, but you need to sit down and relax. I'll get you a shirt." She said walking away.

Sam looked around the hospital waiting room looking for comfort outside of the vinyl chairs. His eyes scanned for anything that could take his mind away from the fear that was clogging his arteries. Who was he kidding? There was nothing to stop that heart attack.

Damon, Stefan, and Elena all burst through the double doors as Sam was putting his cell phone to his ear. His back was to them but they heard him talking away to Bobby.

"I don't know. I woke and went upstairs and he was just laying there!"

Pause.

"He has a punctured lung."

Pause.

"I don't know. I cant go back there Bobby, they won't let me. I need…"

Pause.

"How do you expect me to…?"

Pause.

"Bobby."

Pause.

"Yeah, ok."

Pause.

"I'll see you soon."

With that Sam hung up the phone and plopped into a chair. It was cold and hard but Sam didn't care. He leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands. The arriving trio moved closer to him.

"Sam," Elena said kneeling down in front of him. She put her hand on his shoulder but he didn't even seem to notice the touch.

"What did the doctors say?" Stefan asked his brow furrowing in pity for the man.

"They had to open an airway. I assume it's because of all the blood that was coming out of his mouth. I don't know what else." Sam said not taking his face from his palms.

"If that went too deep he doesn't have much time." Damon said stomping his foot impatiently.

"I know." Sam mumbled.

"Sam, it's ok. We will think of something." Elena said rubbing little circles into his shoulder.

The nurse returned then with the biggest hospital gown she could find. "Sir."

Sam looked up.

"This is for you. Why don't you go ahead and cover up."

Sam nodded and slid the gown on over his arms and asked Elena to tie it in the back. Her hands lingered on his neck a second too long and both Stefan and Damon looked to each other in wonder. The gown was infinitely bigger than his body. The nurse misjudged his size completely.

Damon shook his head, "Which way did they take Dean?"

Sam cocked his head to side. "Why do you care?"

"Because, as much as I hate to admit it, he saved me. I need to repay the favor, ok? Now tell me while there is still time!"

Sam pointed to the far left corner he'd seen them take Dean.

Damon turned immediately and walked back and around the corner. No one had even bothered to stop him. Sam stood and looked around for the nurse that seemed to share the job description of security guard. When he didn't see her he followed after Damon.

When someone would come into close proximity with him, he'd smile slightly and limp as if on his way back to a room. The nurse had been stupid enough to give him the hospital garb, so he was going to be stupid enough to use it.

He found Damon pacing outside of a room, glancing in every few seconds.

"I can't get in and out without someone seeing me." Damon stated angrily. "But he is dying. If I don't give him some blood soon he will die."

"I can distract them. If there are maybe one or two people in there can you manage?"

"Yeah, I'll compel them easily. It's just with six or seven it would be hard to keep their attention long enough."

Sam nodded.

"What do you plan on doing?"

Sam looked at him and flashed a brilliant smile. "This had better work."

Damon waited for Sam to explain but instead he ran inside the door screaming for all he was worth.

"DEAN! DEAN!" He pushed past some of the attending crew towards his brother. "You can't die on me now you stupid son of a bitch!" He wailed.

"Get him out of here!" A doctor with bloody hands cried.

Two of the nurses tried to pull at Sam's long arms but it was no use. Two others joined pushing and pulling him towards the door.

"You don't understand! That's my brother. He can't die! He can't!" Sam continued bellowing.

Once he'd allowed them to pull him through the door, Damon sped inside and pulled a needle out from one of the drawers. He stuck himself and extracted as much blood as would fill the tube. He quickly grabbed a clean needle and poked it inside of Dean's IV. He pushed all of the liquid out and watched it fill the baggie attached to the IV and then filter into his body.

Damon disposed of the syringe and pulled the two remaining emergency doctors faces to look at him, "You do anything and everything to save this man's lung and his life. You forget that I was here and what I did. You are to explain his healing as miraculous. Understood?"

"We will save his life. It will be miraculous." The two repeated.

Damon strode swiftly out of the room a minute before the rest of the crew returned. Damon waltzed back to the waiting room to find Elena sitting in a chair next Sam and Stefan on her other side.

"Did you do it?" Sam stood upon noticing his arrival.

"Yeah, now lets just hope his heart holds out to pump it through his veins." Damon said.

"Thank you."

Damon turned to look at him in shock. "Your welcome." He nodded.

The four each took a seat lost in their own thoughts.

An hour later the doctor came out with a somber expression. His eyes were dark and tired, his mouth held no smile.

Sam stood and waited anxiously for the outcome.