Overprotective

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights or have any connection with The Vampire Diaries, books or TV show.

Part 10

Something was beeping. Elena tried to ignore it, but the electronic pitch grew more shrill and insistent until she was unwillingly clawed from the blissful spell of unconsciousness.

'Shush,' she grumbled, annoyed at the unwelcome intrusion. As she roused herself properly awake, determined to find and destroy the source of that irritating beeping, Elena became aware of how uncomfortable she was. Why were they on the floor? It was cold, and she was squashed against Stefan's body in a weird, curled up kind of hug. When she shifted slightly, her nose bumped against his cool face, and Elena nuzzled softly into his cheek. From underneath her, she felt Stefan stir and his arms that encircled her moved to assist her own effort to raise her body up off him. She could feel that her hair was a tangled mess as she lifted her head, dragging the length of her hair across Stefan's shoulders in the process and then scraping it back off her face.

Clear, bluish-grey eyes with just a hint of mischief stared up at her. Not Stefan, not Stefan, not Stefan-

Elena's brain finally caught up with itself.

'Damon,' she gasped, lurching back in shock and ending up basically straddling his hips. She winced at the twinge in her neck when her head snapped back too quickly. 'What the-' Oh. Shit. In full technicolor glory, it all came rushing back to her. The attack outside the house; that vampire man-bitch running a tree branch through Damon's chest; Elena dragging him inside the house and trying to patch him up as he writhed in agony on the floor; offering him her wrist, her neck, her blood.

'You were expecting someone else?' Damon questioned comfortably, with a hint of defiance in the jut of his chin.

Oh, God. Elena flushed crimson as the memory of Damon biting her or, more specifically, of her rather unexpected reaction to him biting her, flooded her mind. She felt slightly dazed, very embarrassed and… what the hell was that ringing?

'That's you,' Damon was saying, with overt patience. Elena blinked, uncomprehending. He sighed. 'Your phone. In your pocket?'

Oh. Yes. That's what the sound was. Damon patted the denim pocket on the front of Elena's jeans and her fingers flew there with lightening speed to cut him off. She did not miss the trademark smirk as he pulled his hand back. Without reading the display, Elena flipped the cover open and pressed it to her ear.

'Hello?' she said, and even to her own ears, her voice sounded strained.

'Elena,' Stefan's rich, soothing voice said. Shit. Elena cringed. She would a hundred times rather have had a little time to get herself in order and figure out what the hell last night meant, before speaking to Stefan. Yet another part of her lit up as always, just to hear from him. She physically ached with wishing Stefan was here now, to clear up this mess that she and Damon were making and to make sense of everything.

'Elena, love?' Stefan questioned.

'Uh, yes,' Elena answered, shaking her head to try and right herself. With another flush of mortification, she realised she was still straddling Damon, who was looking at her curiously. 'Yes, I'm here. Sorry, I just woke up. You have my full attention,' she lied, even as her eyes flickered to Damon's face. Quickly, she scrambled to her feet, and turned away from him.

'Is everything alright?'

Oh, boy, was everything not alright. Elena hesitated, wanting so badly to tell Stefan everything. She and Damon had been openly attacked, outside the Salvatore boarding house no less. Damon had nearly died. Despite her acute personal issues with whatever had happened when Damon fed from her last night, Elena was clear that she had acted only to save Damon and Stefan would have wanted that. Surely he would not feel betrayed by that? If she didn't tell him, it would be as bad as lying. It would be saying there was something to hide.

'Stefan, I-' Elena broke off, worrying at her bottom lip. Where did she begin? 'It's Damon. He-'

Without warning, slightly clammy hands wrapped around her waist and spun her in a half-turn, jerking the words right out of her mouth. Damon was on his feet, his face inches from hers and looking pretty damn serious.

'No,' he mouthed, soundlessly, and held her gaze intently while he shook his head. There was nothing smug or arrogant in his look. Elena found herself trusting the gravity in his eyes.

'…he wants to speak to you,' Elena finished, weakly, and handed the phone over.

While Damon reassured Stefan that everything was fine, Elena surveyed the living area. Even in the limited daylight that reached the Salvatore inner sanctum from the thick, stained glass windows, the place looked awful. There were smears of Damon's blood over all the furniture that they had touched on the way from the front door to the chaise lounge they had woken up next to this morning. More blood and messy rags, which were actually Damon's shirt and Elena's sweater, she discovered, were strewn around the floor, next to the open bottle of whiskey and her makeshift surgical apparatus. Looking down at her own body, she noticed the reddish-brown stains on the front of her pale pink vest top. Ugly purplish bruises were starting to colour on the tops of her arms and her left cheekbone felt like a bowling ball had taken up residence under her skin. More of Damon's blood was crusted over her hands and under her fingernails. Elena looked in disbelief at the almost healed bite mark on her wrist, and when she felt along the skin of her neck with a tentative hand, she thought the two tiny bumps she felt there were even smoother than the first of Damon's marks. She felt achy all over and a little dizzy. Still, she couldn't help thinking they had come out of the encounter pretty lightly, all things considered. They were both still alive, or as much as they each had been at the start of the night.

Glancing over to Damon, to confirm the accuracy of that, she noticed he was sitting back down again, whilst talking to Stefan. He was still weak, Elena realised. His skin was too pale and even his face did not move with his usual exuberance. Damon would have to feed again in order to fully heal, and quickly. Where the hell was Redhead when you needed a home delivery? Damon's chest was still bare though, so at least she could see that beneath the layers of dried blood, the torn flesh was all but normalised again, the smooth new skin forming where Elena had pulled the remaining splinters out a few hours ago.

Elena listened while Damon told Stefan a watered down version of last night's events, conveniently leaving out the identities of their vampire attackers, the giant stake that had nearly lost Stefan a sibling and the part where his girlfriend acted as a blood-donor. Finally, Damon handed the phone back to her. Elena smiled weakly, and walked towards the back parlour, for some semblance of privacy.

'Elena,' Stefan was saying. 'Thank God you weren't hurt.'

'Oh, yeah, we were lucky, I guess,' Elena lied, cringing at the deception.

'I don't know what I would do if-'

'Stefan,' Elena cut him off. 'You don't need to worry about me. I'm fine. When it came down to it, Damon was here for me, just like you said he would be.'

'I'm glad,' Stefan said, but his voice sounded a little strained, even to Elena's human ears. 'Elena,' Stefan paused, apparently struggling with a difficult question. His voice was low and tired, but honest. Hearing him made Elena long to have his strong arms wrapped around her, or to run her hands gently over his beautiful face. 'Earlier, I woke you up. And Damon was… It seemed…' Stefan trailed off, too gentlemanly to phrase the question explicitly. The pain in his voice cut through Elena like a knife through hot butter, straight to her gut.

'I fell asleep downstairs,' Elena said, working hard to keep her voice steady. 'I was exhausted, after last night. Damon was pretty beat up. I guess he didn't make it up to his bedroom either.'

There was a brief silence in the wake of her half-truths.

'Okay,' Stefan said, sounding relieved. 'I'm sorry, I shouldn't have even asked. I'm going crazy out here, missing you. Please forgive me, Elena.'

Elena closed her eyes, feeling miserable. When she opened them, she nearly jumped at the sight of Damon's concerned, dazzling blue-grey eyes right in front of her, close enough that she could reach out and touch him. So much for the illusion of privacy.

'There's nothing to forgive,' she said, quietly.

'I love you.'

Damon leaned against the wall, arms folded, eyeing her steadily. Elena met his gaze, sadly.

'I love you too.'

'Be safe, love.'

'Take your own advice,' she murmured, before hanging up.

Damon was still hovering in front of her face, with a scarily intense look on his face that could have been anger, affection, desire, or a volatile cocktail of the above. Elena found herself unable, or unwilling, to move away from him. No, Stefan had done nothing that needed forgiving, but Elena could no longer run from the fact that something was going on with her. She might not have betrayed Stefan last night by letting Damon bite her, but her heart and her feelings had already betrayed him. Elena had not given Damon her blood because she owed him, but because she cared about him, in a different way than you should care about your boyfriend's brother. It didn't exactly help when he literally put his life on the line to defend her. Hell, it didn't help when he stood there all shirtless and unconscionably well-defined.

As she watched, Damon brought his wrist to his own mouth and bit decisively into the flesh. Blood welled on the nicked skin.

'You need to heal those bite marks,' Damon told her, his tone brooking no argument, 'and that pretty face. Bonnie will think I'm beating you, and I so don't need that beef.'

Graphic and disturbing images of the first time she'd had Damon's blood in her mouth– while he had held her hostage and threatened to turn her, then forced her to ingest enough vampire blood to scare Stefan into handing over that damn journal - replayed in Elena's head. Something must have shown on her face because, as Damon brought his wrist to her mouth, he spoke soothingly to dispel her fear. 'I know- I'm sorry about last time. This isn't like that. You don't have to.' There were a hundred reasons for Elena to back away, but she surprised herself by acquiescing without a word of protest. After all, she could hardly wander around town, or see Jeremy or her friends, with a mangled wrist, purpling face and a suspicious looking wound on her neck.

Elena parted her lips and let Damon press his wet wrist against them, experimentally sticking her tongue out to taste the curious, rich vampire blood. Though she didn't exactly think she was in danger of becoming a blood addict, it was… bearable to lap up a mouthful of tangy, viscous liquid. That was all it took for the fizzy sensation that signalled accelerated healing to start spreading. Elena's hand gripped Damon's as she moved his wrist away, and his fingers grasped at hers, tangling together. Almost afraid, she lifted her head to meet a gaze of pure, surging emotion.

Damon's head bent with inhuman precision and, after the barest of pauses, his mouth covered Elena's.

Damon hovered on the edge of the kiss, fully capturing Elena's mouth, warm and firm, but not taking it any further. He was waiting, Elena realised, to see how she would react.

Truthfully, Elena was having a more intense reaction to Damon's kiss than she would have thought possible a few weeks ago. Somehow, her hand had found its way to graze against the delicious stubble on Damon's cheek. Her whole body was straining to mould against his, and it would be so terribly, disastrously easy to part her lips, allow that luscious breath that she craved to mingle with hers, and just abandon herself to sheer lust. Elena wanted so badly to give in, and it nearly ripped her in half to try to hold back. She was with Stefan, and whatever cruel trick destiny was trying to play on her, she would not allow history to repeat itself. One hundred and fifty years later and they were all still living out the consequences of Katherine's selfishness and gratuitous destruction of the brothers' bond. Elena would not be what Katherine was.

Racked with indecision, Elena hesitated for an infinitesimal moment, but it was long enough for Damon to notice. She knew without saying anything that he understood everything that had just gone through her mind. His practised lips pressed gently across her own once, twice more, before sliding away.

'What-' Elena asked breathily, trying to resist the impulse to lick her lips, 'what was that?'

Damon's eyes were catching a thousand colours in the light; as many colours, thought Elena, as there were different facets to this complicated man's personality.

'That was 'thank you'', Damon answered wryly, 'for saving my ass last night.' He didn't seem hurt by Elena's tacit rejection, and, strangely, Elena felt closer to him than ever, despite the potential for awkwardness here. Damon had actually fed from her and, despite or perhaps even because of the fraught circumstances of the bite, just remembering it made Elena almost heady again. Impulsively, Elena leaned over and kissed Damon's cheek, sweetly. He looked startled; Elena guessed it had been a while since anyone gave Damon a kiss that could remotely be counted as chaste, but he quickly smiled.

'And what was that?'

'That was 'thank you' for putting your ass in danger by coming to my rescue first,' she told him.

'Aw, aren't you cute as a button,' Damon smirked.

'Actually, I'm quite a bad-ass nowadays.'

Damon chuckled at that.

'Women. You stick one vampire with a syringe of vervain, and suddenly you think you're the second coming of Buffy Summers.'

'Well, I do already have the brooding vampire boyfriend and the best friend who's a witch,' Elena noted, arching one amused eyebrow at Damon.

'True. So if Stefan is Angel… oh, no. Am I Spike?'

'Well, you do have the century old bitchfest with Stefan going on. And, though at first you seem like evil incarnate, you have actually batted for Team Good a few times now.'

'Huh. Then we're right on schedule to start a secret, sordid affair where I rock your world with it's-so-wrong-but-it's-so-so-good sex that makes you feel equal parts defiled and dazzled.'

'You know Buffy had to die before that happened, right? So, following this metaphor, I'm within my rights to say… over my dead body.'

Damon quirked a devilish smile.

'How about over my dead body?' he suggested in a sex-filled, husky voice, leaning in close to Elena again, who did a tiny intake of breath before removing herself from Damon's personal space. Planting herself a few feet away from the vampire, with an upright wooden antique chair between them, Elena smiled nervously.

'Uh, while we're on the subject...'

'Of my dead, but very hot, body?'

Elena's face was set in a peculiar, almost defiant look.

'More like the defiled and dazzled part,' she admitted. Elena wasn't exactly thrilled about having to ask this, but it was awkward as hell having it hang between them while she didn't really understand what had happened. Girding herself, and reminding herself that she was an adult, Damon was (kind of) an adult, and there was nothing to be embarrassed about, Elena pressed on. 'About last night…'

'There was defiling last night?' Damon looked intrigued. 'Did I miss some defiling?'

'For Christ's sake, Damon, would you be serious for one minute?' Elena snapped. 'I'm trying to talk to you here!'

Damon immediately rearranged his face to one of penitence- a look that did not particularly sit well on his features, probably due to infrequent use.

'Sorry,' he said. 'Please, go on.'

Elena huffed and leaned forward on the high top of the chair she was standing behind. She twisted her hands around the rough wooden struts and ran her fingers over the ornate carvings there. After two attempts to get the sentence out, both timed resulting in her reclosing her mouth without having uttered a sound, she was pretty much at a loss as to how to start this conversation. Luckily, Damon chose this moment to have a flash of perceptivity, noticeable by the slight widening of his eyes and the soft chuckle on his lips.

'Is this about the blood-gasm?' he guessed. When Elena's cheeks darkened in mortification, he knew he was right. 'Are you mad because I stopped before you, you know...' He grinned suggestively.

'No!' Elena interrupted, hastily. 'God, no-'

'Good, because I thought it was for the best. I mean, I didn't think that's what you wanted, because of Stefan…'

'Yes, I mean… No, I didn't. That's, yes, that's um…' Elena took a deep breath to stop her stuttering and looked up into Damon's laughing eyes. Wryly, she bit her lip and smiled. 'Blood-gasm? Damon, that's disgusting.'

'I was trying to lighten the mood,' he said, softly, and reached out to rest a hand over Elena's, atop the chair back. 'Elena, you have nothing to be embarrassed about. You did a very brave thing, last night. You saved my life.'

'I'm not sorry I did it, Damon,' she answered, hesitantly. 'I just wasn't expecting… that. I thought it would hurt, and at first it did, but-'

'Sorry, I was too far gone to control myself.' Damon's crystal clear eyes were guilty. 'That must have scared you. To do what you did for me… Most people wouldn't have taken that risk. Elena, you…' Damon blinked away, and shook his head slightly, then brought his electric gaze back into full focus on Elena's coffee eyes. 'You're the best friend I've had in a lot of years. How could I not make it as good for you as I could?'

Maybe it was the dramatic events of the night taking a toll on Elena, but the petite brunette found herself slightly watery eyed at Damon's unexpected declaration. Unbidden, she squeezed his hand, when he returned the gesture, she realised that she really didn't feel embarrassed about this anymore. However, she was still curious.

'So, is it like that every time you feed from a human?'

'No,' Damon admitted. 'Drinking can be painful or pleasurable for the human. It depends what the vampires' intentions are, and how skilled they are in controlling the feed. Then there's the emotional factor. Drinking from someone who you feel an emotional connection to changes the experience. It's the same with vampire sex. For a pair with an emotional bond, biting during sex heightens everything, not just for the vamp but for the human as well. It's not just a selfish thing.'

'So, what I felt last night. That was because you wanted it to be good for me, you're a big talented vamp-ho, and, uh, we like each other?' Elena reasoned aloud.

'Pretty much,' Damon confirmed.

'And you stopped before I, uh, finished, because you knew I'd feel like I betrayed Stefan if you turned me saving you into a sexual thing.'

'Do you wish I hadn't stopped?' Damon grinned. 'Hey, we can go again right now.'

'No,' Elena said, gently. 'I'm just kind of impressed that you actually respected me enough to bother to stop. It must have been tempting, in the circumstances…'

'Please. Like you're so irresistible. But seriously, that's why I didn't let you tell Stefan this morning. Elena, you did nothing wrong, but for vampires, when it comes to affairs of the heart, the whole blood thing is pretty closely related to the sex thing. Trust me, Stefan doesn't want to know about this, ever.'

Elena frowned.

'But Stefan wouldn't have wanted me to let you die,' she argued. 'And he wouldn't have wanted for it to hurt me when you fed from me.'

Damon nodded sagely. 'Yeah,' he dead-panned. 'Unfortunately, where the male ego is concerned, even for Saint Stefan, there can be no logic. Take my word for it: he won't like it. If you feel compelled by truth, honour and puppy dogs to come clean, wait until you're back in loverboy's arms where he can be assured you are tucked safely away from Big Bad Me.'

'Damon Salvatore, are you actually trying to give me relationship advice?' Elena questioned, incredulously. Damon removed his hand from Elena's smaller one and straightened up, looking a little put out.

'And on that note,' he said, 'I'm going out for breakfast.' He stretched his arms above his head warily, grimacing at the remaining tenderness, not noticing Elena's lustful gaze as his arm and shoulder muscles corded in sinful elegance.

Elena saw that he was walking at human speed as he crossed the house, heading for the stairs to his room. She trailed behind him, worried about his lack of energy.

'Wait,' she called, when Damon started up the main staircase. 'I don't think that's a good idea.'

'Relax,' Damon told her, pausing mid-stair to turn and give his housemate an easy smile. 'Francesca and her bionic boyfriend definitely don't have any anti-sun protection jewellery. You're safe during the daylight hours.'

'You don't think they'll leave town after last night?'

'Um, no, Elena. They're vampires. I realise you've had a slightly skewed education learning the subject from Stefi-pops, but real vampires can be persistent little beggars. And I'd guess getting their asses handed to them by a human girl last night will have really pissed them off.'

Elena's heart sank. It's not like she really had thought this was over, but hearing it so bluntly from Damon's mouth made it painfully clear they only had a few hours before it all started again. She was tired, and more than a little terrified. Thom had basically kicked Damon's ass last night, and they had both nearly died. How were they going to survive another night? Swallowing all of that down, she tried to get back to her original point.

'Well, that's not actually what I was talking about anyway. I meant that it's not a good idea for you to go out. No offence Damon, but you look like hell. And it's not exactly the prime time of day for trawling for a date. Isn't there someone you can call who'll come over here for you to, er, feed from?'

Damon looked quite amused.

'You suggesting I order in?' Elena flushed a little. 'I didn't think it was exactly best manners, with a roommate. Especially after last night.'

'Look, last night was one thing,' Elena said, carefully, not wanting to upset the delicate balance of their new friendship. 'But it was an emergency situation. I'm not your blood bank or your girlfriend, and a vampire's gotta eat, right?'

'Right,' Damon replied, a little coldly.

'And speaking of blood banks, don't you think it would be helpful to keep some emergency blood in the house?'

'I usually do,' Damon found himself saying defensively, as if he had to explain himself to a human girl. 'I just ran out last week and I haven't exactly had the time to commit grand larceny since my babysitting duties got considerably amped up.'

The words were mean to infuriate Elena, but Damon actually was angry at himself. For the first time in decades he had been worrying about someone else other than himself, and he'd forgotten to look after his own needs. It was plain stupid to have let his blood stock run out. Even though he preferred his blood freshly donated, and fed most often from a warm human body, there were times when it was necessary to use an emergency bag of blood. Last night, for instance, might have been a whole lot less messy. Not that, in truth, Damon would willingly trade the amazing experience of Elena's sweet blood filling his mouth, slicking down his throat while her soft, warm body writhed helplessly in his arms. He hadn't meant to hit her with quite so much of the pleasure whammy, but as soon as he had tasted her Damon was completely bewitched. His need for her translated down the blood connection and incited an uncontrollable energy between them that had almost made Damon forget what was really happening. As soon as he did though, he had seized onto that moment of clarity and, just short of ravishing his brother's girlfriend, managed to pull away. The taste of Elena's blood mingled with the heady scent of her arousal had been damn near overpowering, but he knew it wasn't real. Her sexy little whimpers and pleas, the way she was trying to invade his body; it was all a response to what he was projecting to her as he drank. As much as Damon wanted her, his unquellable ego also wanted Elena to want him. And that would never happen if she hated him for taking advantage of her, after she had made herself more than vulnerable to him, risked even her own life, to give him blood, to heal him.

'Speaking of babysitting duties,' Elena said, apparently unperturbed by Damon's rudeness 'I'm going to check that Jeremy actually made it to school today.'

'Anna was watching him. He'll be fine.'

'I know. I just… feel like seeing my little brother for a minute. I should put in an appearance at school too. Let Bonnie and Caroline know I'm alive. Uh,' Elena glanced over her shoulder at the messy hallway and living room behind her, 'you need help clearing that lot up before I go?'

Damon surveyed the disaster zone of with a cool eye.

'Nah. I can always compel whatever chick I call over here to clean it up.'

'Oh, great,' Elena said, heavy on the sarcasm, but not really caring enough to mount any serious objection. 'Then I'm just gonna shower and run. I'm probably already too late for homeroom.'

'Gee, wouldn't want that.'

'Damon, what the hell are we going to do?' Elena blurted out, suddenly unable to keep up the cheery everything-is-normal banter, when she was feeling like every passing second of sunlight brought them both closer to death. She slumped down onto a lower step of the staircase and wasn't surprised when Damon sat down next to her. His strong, still shirtless arm wrapped comfortingly around her shoulder and she leaned into his chest, hearing the same strange, slow heart beat that had once weirded her out in Stefan.

'You are going to go to school,' Damon said. 'I am going to get my strength back, then meet with Anna and make some decisions about how exactly we're going to kill Francesca and Thom. Elena,' Damon grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back so he could look into her eyes, 'I promise you, they are not going to hurt you again. I won't let that happen.'

'Okay,' Elena murmured. It made no sense, but somehow she believed Damon. 'I trust you, Damon. Really trust you, I mean. I know I said it had to come with time, and then less than a day later I told you I trusted you about Anna not hurting Jeremy. I meant it then, and I really, honestly mean it now.' Elena wasn't sure exactly why she felt the need to reassure Damon on this point, and right now, but it seemed important somehow. Like, going through all of this together, the one thing they needed to remember was that they were a team, and they had each other's back. Elena knew there were a lot of unresolved feelings between Damon and her, and she couldn't tell him what he wanted to hear about most of them. But her trust was the one thing she could give Damon, and it suddenly meant everything to her that he understand that, that he believe their friendship was real.

In her earnest endeavour to convince Damon of this fact she had unwittingly moved so close to the vampire that she was practically in his lap. Elena could feel his cool breath against her cheek, and she instinctively reached out to brush a tangled wave of Damon's hair back off his forehead. Great. Now she was fighting the impulse to lock lips with him again. The kiss that she had not allowed to develop earlier was playing and replaying on her mind.

'Okay,' Elena said, more to herself than to Damon, and with some determination she slid out of Damon's embrace, standing upright on the stairs. 'I'm going for that shower. Your vampire blood may have healed my bruises but I'm still caked in dried blood and God knows what, and I think I smell.' Elena wrinkled her nose delicately.

'Yeah, little bit,' Damon concurred.

'Gee, thanks.'

'After school, I think it's best if you take Jeremy back to your house,' Damon said, stretching backwards to lay down across the steps. 'I need Anna with us, so if we leave Jeremy with his friends he'll be unprotected. I don't think Francesca and Thom would go after him, but I don't want to underestimate them again. This way, we can all stay together.' Elena wholeheartedly agreed.

'What shall I tell him?'

'Nothing, for now. It's family night today, right? Just tell him you want him home for it and that Anna and I are joining you. If it comes to it, we may have to cross the whole yeah-vampires-exist bridge later on.'

Elena smiled a little, liking the way Damon said 'we'.

'Family night, eh?'

'Er, yeah,' Damon said, giving her a look that implied shewas the weird one. 'Haven't you heard? It's what I do. And I do do it well.'

'You cooking?'

'Unless you were planning on serving ice-cream sundaes for dinner…'

'Wow you are domesticated. You're like a house vampire now.'

'Watch it, oh annoying small one,' the vampire growled.

'I'm so glad Thom missed when he tried to ram that tree branch through your heart.'

Damon smirked as Elena ran lightly up the stairs to get ready for school, but in truth he was pretty worried about the whole situation. There was no way Thom had missed his heart by accident. For Christ's sake, with a stake that big it was pretty damn skilled to avoid the heart at all. Damon and Elena had wounded Thom the worst way possible: by hurting Francesca, his mate of who knew how many centuries. If Damon's gut instinct was anything to go by, the big vampire had let them both go last night for one reason only. Thom wanted his revenge to be up close, personal and much, much slower than a stake through the heart.

TBC...

A/N: Is anybody reading Thomas Galvin's hilarious recaps of TVD on his blogsite? If you haven't yet, do hop across and have a look- just not while you're drinking a milkshake or anything else liable to be snorted out of your nose….