Happy Thursday everyone! I hope you all got to watch tonight's episode. I'll refrain from commenting here in case there are people who haven't seen it, but if you want to talk about it, PM me. I can talk about this subject for HOURS… ;-)

I want to say a special thank you to everyone who reviewed this last chapter. Especially GIZLI! Your review came in during a horrible day and was so lovely – it honestly made my day. And to the rest of you as well – thank you for your comments. It means a lot.

Thank to you my brilliant beta, Hannah Taylor1. She's the greatest beta and friend ever.

I hope you all enjoy this one – I'm a little nervous about it!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

XOXO

Damon stood still, his breath coming quick as he looked at the woman he loved more than anything standing in front of him. Doubt and anger seethed inside of him, urging him to run, to protect his heart from her this time. But old habits die hard and all he could do was all he ever did – run headlong toward her.

He closed the distance between them in less than a second and took her face in his hands, his eyes raking over her before he crushed his mouth onto hers. She gasped against him, her hands moving to lock around his wrists. For a second he thought she would push him away, but she dragged him closer, wrapping her arms around his neck and hoisting herself up as she kissed him hard.

He grabbed her legs, helping her wrap them around his waist as he stumbled forward to press her against the nearest tree. She arched against him, her hips grinding on his as he moved down to kiss her neck, his teeth scraping over her flesh. One of his hands held the back of her head, protecting her from the rough bark of the tree and the other cupped her backside, setting a rhythm to her hip wriggling that nearly sent him over the edge.

His tongue thrust into her mouth and she let out a sob into the kiss, clutching his hair and futilely struggling to push his jacket off his shoulders. Agreeing with her sentiment, he set her down and dragged her sweater off over her head, tossing it aside before sliding off his jacket and beginning to work on the buttons of his shirt.

Their eyes were locked as she reached behind her, undid her bra, let it fall, and reached out for the button of his pants. The look in her eyes as she flipped it open set his blood on fire and he tossed aside his shirt before pinning her back against the tree, groaning in her ear as she slid his zipper down and tugged at the waistband of his jeans. When the heavy denim fell to the ground, he stepped away long enough to pull off his boots and kick his pants off before he pressed against her again. His hands roamed over her bare skin, sliding along the dip of her waist before moving to cup her perfect breasts, kneading them in his palms.

Elena ran her nails down his back, clutching at his shoulders. She slid one hand between them, scraping her fingers against his abdomen, then wandering lower, running her hand over his length. Biting back his moan, he pushed her harder against the tree, letting one hand drop to the button on her jeans. He teased her, making her hooded eyes fly open with his touch. Her lips parted and he kissed her, nipping at her bottom lip before he jerked her pants open, pulling the zipper down with one hand while the other was already pushing the waistband down her hips. Her underwear disappeared next, flung in scraps over his shoulder as he ground his hips into hers.

Small hands pushed at his underwear and then he was inside her. Closing his eyes and pressing his forehead to hers, he set their pace at superhuman, reaching down and lifting her legs back around his waist She clung to his shoulders and threw her head back, giving him perfect access to her neck with all its olive-toned, smooth skin and her veins underneath.

He could feel her nearing the point of no return and he leaned in, licking a path up her neck before finding that sweet spot he'd fantasized about so many times. He nipped at her and she let out a throaty moan, arching her neck to urge him on. Not needing to be told twice, he let his fangs descend and bit her neck, his eyes rolling back in his head as he heard her pleasured sighs and tasted the smooth, rich blood in her veins. Latching his mouth around his prize, he suckled at her, coaxing her blood out and laving it up with his tongue. More than anything else, the taste of her made him feel like they were one, like he could crawl inside of her, consume her, know her inside and out.

She trembled against him and he held her close, quickly following her over the edge. His strength faltered as he tried to keep them standing through it all. When she went limp against him, he eased them away from the tree, dropping light kisses over her hair and face and shoulder as he somehow managed to lower them both to the ground.

They were as intimate now as two people could be, sprawled naked on the ground, limbs tangled, breath still coming fast from their mutual pleasure. Yet as soon as their bodies began to cool and their lungs regained a steady rhythm, the unaddressed stress between them blanketed the moment with uneasy tension.

Because he didn't know what else to do, he reached back into his comfort zone and pulled out something flippant.

"I thought you said you didn't know how to have hot vampire sex."

She sat up, hugging her knees to her chest, the long expanse of her back, dotted by the vertebrae of her delicate spine, exposed to his eyes. Everything in him wanted to reach out his hand and trail that line, but even he knew they weren't there yet. Frustrated, angry sex was one thing. Gentle caresses were another.

"Do you really think we have an expiration date?" She laid her head sideways on her arms, not looking at him, but not completely turned away from him."Are you just waiting for me to walk away from you?"

His throat closed and he stared up at the sky, trying to find the right words. Somehow, he couldn't tell her no, and he hated to tell her yes.

"That's what you're doing, isn't it?" She lowered her legs and turned to face him, sadness etched into her beautiful face. "You think I'll change my mind about you… about loving you."

With a sigh, he sat up too, brushing the leaves from his hair. "It's complicated, Elena."

"It really isn't," She argued, "Damon, what we just had was a fight, not a break-up. It wasn't even a real fight. It was both of us letting our emotions get the best of us and saying things we don't mean and overreacting to every little thing. Do you really think I would be done with you so easily?"

Clenching his jaw, he forced himself to hold her gaze. "After all our starts and stops, emphasis on the stops – yeah. Part of me does."

She just watched him, her eyes full of questions.

"That's what we do, Elena. We have… moments." He reached behind him and grabbed his jacket off the ground, draping it around her shivering frame. "And every time we have one of our moments, I think it's real. That kiss on your porch. You kissed me back. We had a moment. And then it was gone."

"Damon..."

"That night at the motel," Standing up, he found his jeans and pulled them over his legs. "I figured you couldn't kiss me like that if you didn't feel something. My mistake."

"Of course I felt something."

Picking his shirt up, he slung it on. "Did you? Is that why you left me to die alone in a warehouse while you ran back to Stefan again? I'm just saying, Elena. Starts and stops. Of course I'm waiting for the next stop. I'm… waiting for the moment to end."

He tossed her jeans toward her, not meeting her eyes. "You ready?"

Slowly, she stood and pulled them on. The curtain of her hair hid her face from him, but he could sense, even smell the tears rolling down her cheeks. When she'd fastened her jeans, she paused for a second, hesitating before she crossed to him. Her eyes never lifted to his as she leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"I'm sorry I broke your trust in me, Damon. I never meant to." She leaned up to kiss his cheek before stepping away from him. Her tears were on his skin as she turned and collected the rest of her clothes before slowly beginning the trek back toward town.

Watching her walk away tore at him and before he knew it, he was standing in front of her, giving her another chance to not leave him this time. She'd come after him when he'd walked away. Now it was his turn.

"Is this a bump in the road, Elena?"

"What do you mean?"

They both knew she knew exactly what he meant."Is this. A bump?"

She sighed and looked down, "I'm trying to give you what you want, Damon. I'm trying to make this easier for you."

"No. You're trying to make it easier for yourself." There was too much at stake to go easy on her now. "We just hit a bump at full speed, Elena. But this time you're driving the sabotage-mobile, not me."

"I don't know what you want from me, Damon." Elena met his eyes, looking small and lost. She gestured aimlessly with one hand. "Do you want to me to go or stay because I honestly can't tell."

Taking a step toward her, he laid it all out on the line. "I want you to want to stay."

"That's the thing, Damon." She wrapped her arms around herself, lifting one slim shoulder. "I never wanted to leave."

"Then why did you?" He demanded, taking another step toward her, "As many times as my brother told you to run for the hills, you always fought for him. Is there a specific number of chances I get before you give up on us? On me? Because I'm pretty sure Stefan's forgiveness punch card didn't have an expiration date."

"And you think yours does?" She gaped at him, a short, humorless laugh escaping her as she took a step closer to him, "Damon, I have forgiven you of more than everyone else I know combined. And more easily. When you've been at your darkest, I've reached out to you. I've defended you, stayed with you… does that count for nothing?"

It did. Sometimes it was all that got him through. But he was still scared. Not just scared, but terrified that if he let her really see him and be with him, if he didn't keep that wall up, that next time, when she left, it would destroy him. So he told her his deepest fear and hoped with every fiber of his being that she would know the right thing to say.

"Maybe you just reached out to the imaginary Damon that lives in your head." He moved a little closer to her, "The one you can tie up with ribbons and pearls and prettify for high society tea. Just admit it, Elena." He looked down at the ground for a long moment before meeting her eyes again. He shrugged, "I don't check any of the right boxes in your future fantasies. Whenever it comes down to accepting me dark side and all, you run screaming the other way, usually right back to Stefan."

Elena tilted her head, her eyes roaming over his face. Consciously or unconsciously, she took another step toward him. "You're not wrong," She said softly, "For a really long time, you didn't check the right boxes for what I wanted. The thing is… " A small, tentative smile touched her lips, "The boxes changed, Damon. There's just the one box now and you're the only one who checks it. Don't think that when I came to you yesterday it was because I had somehow forgotten the worst parts of you. I hadn't. I came because I love you, Damon. All of you. And I want to stay."

Her words washed over his pitted heart, eroding the darkest edges and filling the deepest gaps. Throat tight, he took the last step toward her, his voice catching as he spoke. "Then stay."

Instantly, the tension drained from her body and she nodded into his chest as she melted against him, the tears welling in her eyes staining his shirt. Her arms wrapped around his waist and, had he been less resilient, the force of her hold would have crushed him. Instead, he just wanted her closer. Locking his arms around her body, he held her against him, burying his face in her long hair so he could breathe her in.

She was still his. Somehow amidst all that chaos someone had said something right and she was still here, in his arms. Their moment hadn't ended.

"I'm sorry," Elena nudged her nose against his neck, finding his skin with her lips. "I love you, Damon. I don't want us to push each other away."

His eyes closed and he tightened his grip on her. "I'll chase you if you chase me."

Her lips curved against his skin. "Deal."

"I love you, too." He tilted her chin up, bending down to kiss her lips. For several blissful moments he just let himself enjoy her, let them both reassure each other. "Elena," He broke away regretfully, "the whole Charlotte blood thing ... I didn't tell you because I didn't know. The idea never even occurred to me before Stefan threw it in my face this morning in a fit of jealous ex-vampire-boyfriend pique." He brushed her hair back, letting his thumb drift along the curve of her cheek, "For the record, I think he's wrong."

She stretched her arms around his neck, her fingers running through the back of his hair, "I guess I should have figured that out. You would never keep something like that from me…"

"No secrets."

"But…" She cast him a hesitant look, as though she was worried her next words would put them at odds again, "This morning, when you had me try the blood bag. You knew then…"

Her unspoken question was the same one he'd been asking himself ever since he held her on the kitchen floor while she vomited up blood. Why would he do that her? "Yeah…" He ran his hands down her arms, gently easing back from her, "I guess the blood bag was me choosing to ignore Stefan. Maybe I was in denial and hoping to prove him wrong. You'd been handling blood better… I thought maybe..." He shook his head, "It was a stupid thing to do."

"It doesn't matter now," She smiled and straightened the collar of his shirt, smoothing down the fabric. "I only lashed out at you about it because…" Her words trailed off and she took a shaky breath.

"Because you're scared." He murmured, drawing her back to him. "You're going to be fine, Elena. Even if we have to deal with this, we'll get through it. We always survive, remember?"

"Someday survival will be a little easier, right?"

"With you around…?" He teased her, letting her step back from his embrace, "That'll be the day."

Her smile was back and she playfully nudged at him. "Here," She slipped his jacket off and handed it to him. "I'd better get dressed if we're going to head back."

His eyes feasted on her skin glinting in the sunlight. "I liked you better in nothing by my jacket…"

"I bet you did." She fastened her bra around her waist and pulled the shoulder straps up into place. "I think we did this backward. Aren't we supposed to have make-up sex after the fight is over?"

"Oh, that wasn't make-up sex." He put his jacket on as she struggled to turn her sweater right-side-out. "That was hot, angry, desperate sex. Against a tree," He slid his arms around her bare waist while he still could. "You naughty girl."

Flushing, she pushed at his hands, "Damon…we have to get back,"

"Says who?" He swept her up in his arms and kissed her, making her drop her sweater on the ground again, "Who's looking for us?"

"We have things to do…" She let her head fall back as he kissed her neck, "Damon…"

"I can't get enough of you," He whispered against her skin, letting his hands slide over her hips. "Whatever it is we have to do can wait."

"But I have to pack," She protested, sighing as he kissed down her chest, letting his tongue trace the lines of her bra.

He was having a hard time concentrating on what she was saying, more than ready for another bout of forest sex. "Pack for what, baby?"

Her hands rested in his hair, cradling his head against her breasts, "I'm going to New Orleans with you."

That made his head jerk up quick enough. "What?"

"I want to go with you."

He stepped back from her, cocking an eyebrow. "To New Orleans."

"I know you don't like the idea," She held up a hand, warding off the torrent of words he was about to let loose, "But don't just say no right away."

"Fine," He smirked at her. "No freaking way."

"Damon…"

"I mean it, Elena." Damon shook his head. "It's way too dangerous."

"I want to be a part of this, Damon." Elena insisted, crossing her arms over her chest. "After all, this is my life we're talking about"

"My point exactly." He crossed his own arms, refusing to waver no matter how cute she looked when she was defying him. "Charlotte and life go together about as well as Stefan and people blood. Bad combination. I can take her if I need to. You, on the other hand, wouldn't survive a minute in the same room. Think… Stefan the Ripper on steroids, minus the Justin Bieber face."

Elena wasn't ready to give up, or take the bait on any of his jokes. When she was determined, she was determined. "So I'll stay away from her until you clear it. But if she's safe then I'll be right there in town to talk to her myself. That's fair, Damon."

He rolled his eyes, "Not happening."

"Why are you being such a caveman about this?"

"Because," He held up a finger, "For one thing, I love you. Therefore, by default, I worry about you. And if I'm distracted with being worried about you while I'm there then I don't find out what I need to find out." He held up another finger, "Number two – I love you. So by default, when you're around, I only think about doing things like this."

Reaching out for her arm, he yanked her against him, kissing her with the full intention of making her toes curl. He must have done something right because despite her determination to win this argument, she wrapped around him, her tongue sliding over his as she fully committed to this kiss.

Smirking against her mouth, he drew her bottom lip between his teeth and nipped lightly before pulling away.

"See?" He skimmed his lips along her jaw, "Distraction."

"Nice try, Damon. But I'm coming."

He sighed and cupped her face in his hands, "Picture this. Me in the front, driving-because, no way are either one of you grandmas getting behind the wheel. You in the passenger seat, and hero hair in the backseat, being broody." He sighed dramatically and dropped his hands from her, "Can't you just hear the 'Are we there yets' and 'Damon, you stole my girlfriends.' Of course, we could always have fun playing the usual games ... I spy with my little eye, a Bambi vampire about to cry." He gave her a pointed look, "Yeah, no. You're not coming. I did middle school already."

"Damon," She reached down and picked up her sweater, this time managing to actually get it on, "Are you telling me you need quality time with your brother without me around?"

"That too." He leaned in and kissed her forehead, thankful that she understood the things he didn't quite know how to say. "So… you'll stay here?"

She pressed her lips together, clearly struggling with relinquishing control her. He couldn't say he blamed her. If it was him, he'd want to be on the ground floor of this, too.

"Fine." The word finally escaped the confines of her tight lips, "I'll stay. If you promise that when you get Charlotte cornered and you're talking to her… you'll call me so I can listen in."

"Fair enough," He agreed immediately. "I'll call you so often you'll get sick of me."

A hint of a smile touched her lips. "You better."

Holding his hand out for hers, he nodded in the general direction of home. "So what do you say we go spend our last night together for a while somewhere that's not these woods?"

"That sounds like a great idea," She linked their fingers and leaned against him as they walked. "It seems impossible that this morning we woke up on that couch together. What a long, long day…"

"Here's to an evening of no more surprises, then."

"And no more fights…"

Slinging his arm around her shoulders, he kissed her temple, "And no more problems…"

XOXO

"No more problems." Damon, you're so cute when you're naïve. ;-)

So I really hope you guys like this. Like I said, it was a really important chapter to me so I was a little nervous about posting. I'd honestly love your feedback.

Also, I have a very strong plot in my head for this fic, but I want to make sure you guys want more before I decide to keep posting. Is anyone interested in seeing the resolutions to these issues over, say, another 10-15 chapters? Or would you prefer a clean wrap-up now that they've worked out some of their bigger issues?

You guys are the best readers ever! Happy Delena!

(Ten chapters in one week – record for me!)