I woke up in the middle of the night tangled in the sheets and knotted in the comforter. I was sweating. My dream had been a nightmare of the most disturbing proportion, and I was shaking and crying.
"Rora, Rora," Damon said appearing next to me. He was shirtless and wearing only sweat pants. He had been sleeping beside me and I hadn't even noticed.
"I was dreaming," I said trying to breathe steadily. Damon took my trembling body into his arms and pressed me to his chest.
"That's all it was, a dream," He said soothingly.
"I was in the hospital," I said. "I hadn't had an abortion yet, in fact, I was going into labor," I said in a shaking voice. "She was fine, but as soon as she was born her father suffocated her with a blanket." I shook even more violently at the memory of the images in my head.
"It was a dream and nothing more," Damon said, but his arms tightened around me. I snuggled into his chest. Inhaling his sweet scent and feeling close to him let me relax, and I sighed feeling much better. I lifted my face to look into his blue eyes. They burned with fire. I tilted my head back and closed my eyes, waiting for him to kiss me. Damon wasted no time in giving me what I wanted. The kiss was gentle and sweet. I pressed my figure against him, the thin fabric of the hospital gown offering hardly any barrier between us.
His arms around me made me feel secure, and his bare chest against the light gown fabric sent a shiver down my spine. I had never been this undressed with Damon, and my mind was turning every which way.
My fingertips ran down his chest causing him to close his eyes and let out a gasp. At the waist line of his pants I gave a small tug.
"Rora," He whispered. "Maybe we shouldn't," He murmured taking my hands in his and lifting them to his shoulders.
"You don't want to?" I asked feeling the slap of rejection on my face. I pulled away from him and turned to face the opposite direction.
"It isn't that," He said with a chuckle. "I don't think you understand how much I do want to," He said settling behind me and putting a hand on my hip. He leaned forward and kissed the side of my neck. "You told me you aren't ready, and I think you are right," Damon said softly.
"I can make that choice for myself," I said still feeling completely rejected.
"Rora, when we do this, we are going to do it right," Damon said.
"You aren't going all Twilight on me, are you?" I asked lowering my voice. Damon laughed out loud.
"No, I just mean that I don't want you to end up resenting me or hating me because we act too soon," He said. I nodded, although I don't think I could ever hate him, our bond was too strong.
Some college kid had come home for spring break and was throwing a huge party out by the Fell's Church ruins. Damon and I were going only because Anna and Jeremy were going, and Fell's Church was where the vampire tomb was. If Anna wanted to open it, tonight would be the night.
I could feel the tension oozing off of Damon. He was strongly conflicted.
"Relax," I said taking his hand. We didn't normally display any affection in public, not even hand holding, but he gripped my fingers back as if needing the comfort.
"I am," He said stiffly. It was a lie, but I didn't call him on it.
Caroline was showing off Matt who was now on her arm instead of brooding over losing Elena. A pang of guilt fell through me. We had told everyone that Vicky had said she was leaving town, told Jeremy the night of the dance, and no one had seen her since. I strongly hoped that story would be believed for years to come.
Damon and I strolled through the students, our hands still entwined. We got a few odd looks, and I got a few envious looks, but Damon seemed oblivious to the people around us. He was focusing on me, and the up coming trial.
"Something is happening," I said stopping dead. I turned to look in the direction of the tomb.
"What is it?" Damon asked. Damon never questioned my gut feelings or my instinctual knowledge of the supernatural. He embraced it, while Stefan and Elena were a bit skeptical.
"At the tomb," I said. "Bonnie and her Grams are there," I said.
"Let's go," Damon said gripping my hand harder and pulling me through the party until we made it to the forest edge. I heard chanting near the church ruins.
"They've started the spell," I said taking off, Damon close behind me. We arrived just in time for Stefan and Elena to be there.
"Bonnie, what are you doing?" I asked. She looked at me apologetically. Anna was standing above them holding Jeremy as an unconscious hostage.
"Jeremy!" Elena shouted.
"One step and I'll kill him," Anna said. I knew there had been something off about her.
"Don't!" Elena cried.
"Anna, you can't let those vampires out," Stefan said. "They will drain the entire town in minutes."
"Then that will be their sweet revenge," She said.
"What if we let you take your mother?" I asked.
"What?" Elena, Damon, and Stefan asked turning to me.
"You can take your mother, but the rest of them have to stay bound," I said. Anna looked like she was considering her options.
"What leverage do you have over me?" She asked.
"The spell is weakening Bonnie and her Grams," I said. I could feel their power lessening. "If they hold the tomb open long enough for you to revive all the vampires, there is no guarantee that you or any of them could come back out, if they are too weak to keep the spell going," I said. Anna considered her options again.
"Jeremy is coming in with me, or you'll cave the roof in on me when I go in," Anna said.
"If he doesn't come back out your mother will meet her end before stepping outside of the ruins," Damon said sharply. He was no match for Pearl when she was at full strength, but it had been a hundred and forty five years since she had fed on blood.
Anna nodded, and then dragged Jeremy into the tomb. He was beginning to come to. Damon looked after Anna, and Stefan was staring at the tomb too.
"Go," I said releasing his hand.
"Rora," He began to say.
I held my hand up to stop him. "Go." He nodded and Stefan and Damon both entered the tomb together.
"Bonnie, can Elena and I offer energy or something to help keep you going longer?" I asked jumping into the pit where their witch circle was taking place.
"Take my hand," Bonnie said. I did, and then I took Gram's. Elena took Gram's hand and Bonnie's to complete our small circle. The two witches continued to chant, and I felt my energy draining rapidly. It was a very powerful spell.
"Tell them to hurry," Grams said in a weakened voice.
Without breaking the circle I looked to the entrance of the tomb.
"Damon, hurry!" I shouted. There was no response. Something wasn't right. "I have to go down there," I said.
"Don't break the circle!" Bonnie said. I brought Gram's hand and Bonnie's hand together, and once they were touching, I ran to the tomb entrance.
I didn't need light to know where I was going. The energy Damon and Stefan were giving off was like a lighted beacon.
"She isn't here!" I heard Damon say. I couldn't read the emotion in his voice.
"How is that possible?" Stefan asked.
"I don't know, we saw her go in!" Damon said.
"Damon, Stefan, we need to go, the spell is weakening," I said grabbing Damon's arm. He shrugged me off.
"Stefan, go!" I said. "Make sure Anna and Jeremy get out with Pearl too!" Stefan hurried off into the dark.
"She's not here!" Damon said again.
"Damon, come on, let's get out of here, they can't keep the seal down," I said trying to get him to look at me.
"Why isn't she here?" He asked. He was not even registering that I was there.
"Is it worth spending eternity down here trying to figure it out?" I asked. "Damon, please," I said. He seemed to snap out of his daze slightly. He looked at me as if seeing me for the first time.
"Rora?" He asked.
"Let's get out of here," I said. Damon looped an arm around my waist and the walls blurred around me before we were suddenly standing at the tomb entrance. Bonnie and her Grams collapsed in exhaustion, and Stefan was helping Elena to her feet.
Jeremy was talking to Anna who was helping her mother walk.
"Where are you going?" Elena asked as Jeremy began to leave with Anna and Pearl.
"I have to help her," He said.
"Anna was going to kill you!" Elena said.
"They need me," Jeremy said. Elena opened her mouth to protest.
"Jer, be careful," I said. "If you feel sick or weak, come right home." Jeremy nodded. It was obvious to me that Pearl was going to slowly feed off of Jeremy for the next several hours to start regaining her strength.
"Rora, that is dangerous," Elena said. I wasn't listening to her. I was watching Damon who had walked several yards away and was staring into nothing.
"I'm sorry, Damon," Anna said before leaving. "The last time I saw Katherine she was in Chicago in the eightees. She knew where you were, and she didn't care." Then Anna disappeared with Pearl and Jeremy.
I walked over to Damon. I tried to touch him but he shrugged away. He stood like a statue, so I simply wrapped my arms around him and hugged him. It took a long time, but finally, Damon hugged me back, although he was still detached.
Stefan and Damon went straight home, Damon didn't even want my blood. I was beginning to worry about him.
"He'll be all right," Elena assured me as we drove home.
"Maybe," I said shrugging.
"Rora, I'm trying to comfort you, I'm trying to let you know that he cares enough about you to get over her," She said.
"Maybe," I said again.
"Why aren't you more upset?" Elena asked.
"Lena, Katherine made him a vampire, he loved her, and probably still does in some ways. I know he cares about me, but I can't change whether it is enough to get over her or not. Why work myself up over it, whatever happens happens," I said.
"I thought you cared about him," Elena said.
"I do, more than anything, But I'm not going to fight for something if there is nothing to fight for," I tried to explain.
We got home and I went to my room. I was surprised to find Damon standing by the window.