"What are we going to do now?" Damon asked, awkwardly standing at the edge of the room as the other men argued. "If the girl goes to the police…"

"I don't think she's that dumb," Ben said. "And even if she did, I have ways to erase our names from the suspect-list. The hierarchy, remember?"

Damon stopped. Of course, he thought. The hierarchy. That's how the organization worked, in which the top members were the most protected. He was one of these top members and therefore his name wouldn't pop up on any police database.

"What if she goes back to John?" Stefan asked.

"I don't think she'll do that, either," Klaus sighed. "She knows that there's the first place we'll search for her. Stefan, Ben, take the car and search everywhere. I want every town in this area searched. She couldn't have gone too far. Tyler, you'll be coming with me and we'll search North of the property. And Mason , you stay here while Damon searches the woodland areas. Contact our other members and give them a full description of the girl. I have a picture of her on my phone. I have already sent it to everyone out there."

"What the hell's going on here?"

The men turned around to find Alaric looking at them, puzzled. He was carrying a bag which he soon dropped when he noticed the gathering in the living-room. His eyes darted to Damon, almost pleading for answers, but the young Salvatore shook his head slightly before looking down.

"Great, I skip a few days to work at home and I find this?" He groaned. "What's going on?"

"The girl escaped," Ben said. "And you missed the fun part last night. Look," He smirked, and Damon raised his eyebrows, puzzled.

Ben handed his phone to Alaric, on which there were many pictures of Elena, and also a video. The volume was turned up to the max and Elena's screams echoed from the small speakers. The moving image was a close up of her face and Damon could make out every single tear and pained expression in her features.

"You recorded the event?" Damon forced himself to say.

"Of course. I'll send that to John whenever I feel like it. He'll see how sexy she looked in that little teddy and how painful those marks looked on her."

Alaric looked at Damon and Ben, his breathing deep as he forced himself to swallow down the thick bile that was lodged there.

"What, man? Are you gay?" Ben furrowed his eyebrows. "Say something."

"What do you want me to say?" Alaric said with a grin, however Damon saw right through him. "That I'm cursing my luck? I had to be in that fucking office when this happened. What did she do?"

"She tried to escape. Then, she was supposed to be Damon's for the night, and Tyler decided to take matters in his own hands." They all threw a glare at Tyler, who ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "She escaped, this time, successfully. I have to admit, she has the balls."

Alaric continued to listen without uttering a word, sometimes looking over at Damon. He knew something was up and that the young Salvatore had something to do with it, he just couldn't quite believe it.

"We're wasting time," Klaus snapped, throwing on his jacket and marching towards the door. "Let's go."


Damon used that time to go back to his house instead of looking in the woods. He already knew where Elena was, although he would never dare to tell another soul. He knew that if any of them got their hands on Elena, this time, her humiliation will be far worse than the first punishment. He shuddered at the thought and increased his speed.

He hurried into the house, expecting to find her in the living room watching tv or in the kitchen making herself a meal. However, he became worried when he found nothing to suggest she had even come down the stairs. Quickly, he ran up to his bedroom and found Elena on the bed, lying weakly there. She looked sick and very pale.

"Elena?" He called her slowly, taking careful steps towards her.

She looked at him weakly, her eyes widening a little when she saw him. Her forehead was slick with sweat, yet she was shivering under her covers.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't move, Damon," She spoke lightly, "I hurt everywhere. I can't even feel my h-hands."

Damon willed himself to be strong about this. He knelt down next to her bed and looked at the bruises that littered her body. He still couldn't believe that there were no broken bones after the pain she had been through. With slightly shaking hands, he pressed his fingers to her forehead, feeling her burn up under his simple touch. A shuddered ran through her body, but was too weak to protest or fight him off.

He scooped her in his arms, ignoring her faint protests. He walked with her in his arms to his bathroom, setting her on the counter and filled the bath tub with warm water, making sure to add bubbles and soaps to the warm liquid. He then moved in front of her, hesitantly reaching for the buttons on the buttoned nightdress she was wearing.

"No," She swatted his hands away when he moved to unbutton her nightdress. "Please, don't touch me."

"I have to," He told her, looking deeply into her eyes as if trying to reassure her. "You're sick, Elena. You're not well."

He continued to unbutton her nightdress gently, and she snapped her eyes shut as it pooled at her feet. She didn't move a muscle as she felt his hands on her shoulder, his thumbs rubbing gently circles on her arms. Would he undress her completely and stare at her like a prize now, too?

However, to her surprise, he didn't. He left her in her bra and panties and lifted her off the counter, being careful the entire time. He placed her in the bathtub and tears streamed down her cheek as the warm water hit her bruises, however it soon started to soothe her.

He ran a washcloth over her face, arms and her entire body, his eyes staring at the bruises on her neck made by his own teeth. He couldn't imagine the pain she must've felt, and the fear and humiliation.

She was looking at him, her face still sad, biting her perfect lip. He squeezed a large amount of soap on to his palm and started to massage the shampoo in and took a deep breath, feeling the soft hair between his fingers. She finally gave him a half-smile, as if she was finally accepting the fact that he wasn't going to hurt her. He found himself smiling back, just a little, and then he wrapped a towel around her hair, helping her out of the bath tub.

She remained frozen in front of him, like a little girl waiting eagerly for her mother to dress her after a bath. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her as well, before he grabbed a small medical bag from the counter.

"I have medicine that I can apply to your wounds," He told her. "If you want."

She didn't want to accept anything from him, however she knew that the pain was going to be unbearable. Her body was begging for relief and that was what he was offering her. She couldn't very well deny the soothing feeling it would bring her for the pain to be numbed, even if it was only for a little while.

"Okay," She finally spoke, and in an instant, she found herself back on the bed again, and he gently flipped her on her stomach. He took out a cream and alcohol for the wounds.

"It's going to hurt," He warned her.

She nodded weakly, and he did his best not to hurt her as he massaged the cream in. She let out a small cry as it collided with the bruises, and Damon stopped.

"Do you want me to stop?"

"No," She said. "Carry on."

"Elena…"

"Please."

She gripped the sheets tightly in her hands as he cleaned the areas, but sometimes, a cry would escape her. Tears were forming in her eyes as she bit her lips, trying not to scream, biting her lip to the point where it could bleed.

"You're shaking," He told her, pulling his hands away.

"Please just get this over with," Elena cried. "Please just do it."

He nodded and continued, feeling her tensing under his touch. He tried to be carefully and she slowly seemed to relax as the numbing cream started to do its magic. There were a few cuts to her back which he cleaned, making sure that there was no chance of an infection.

"Done…" Damon said. "Just stay still for a few minutes, and you can get up."

She obeyed and he washed his hands, looking at the broken girl. He quickly grabbed the bag he had left by the door, and handed her any array of clothing from a pair of socks, new underwear, sweats and a baggy shirt. It was all he could buy from the shop where he had been on such a rush to get back. Besides, he didn't want her to be in any pain or uncomfortable in any tight fitting clothing.

"Here, I'll let you get dressed," He murmured, making his way to the door and closing it behind him.

He leant against the door frame and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths. It had been so tense back in there, almost too tense. He wanted her to trust him, but he knew that was impossible. All he could do now was make her as comfortable as possible, vowing never to hurt or harm her again.

After about ten minutes, Damon re-entered the room to find Elena sitting on the edge of the bed, wearing all her new clothes with her damp hair hanging over her shoulder. Her breathing spiked when he came in, but she didn't look up.

"I'll make you something to eat," He told her after a few minutes. "What do you want?"

"I'm not hungry," She whispered, twirling her thumbs together.

"You need to eat, Elena," Damon said. "Don't be afraid. Tell me what you'd like to eat. Anything you want, I'll make it for you."

"Anything you have," She told him. "It's good."

He took her arm gently and lead her down to the kitchen. She followed him without question, not wanting to piss him off.

"We'll make something together, then." He smiled at her.

She nodded slightly and Damon took out a few ingredients from the refrigerator, cutting a few slices of bacon. Elena felt her stomach growl when she smelt the cooking bacon and eggs. He smiled over at her, watching her blush.

She hesitantly reached out for the beard to toast and looked at him for permission.

He nodded, encouraging her.

She put the beard on the grill and went to set the table. As she put the utensils, memories of the night before started to haunt her again. Her mind started to wonder and their faces flashed across her eyes. The bruises on her neck started to pulse and her body muscles locked together, fear taking over her.

In fact, she had been there for quite a while because she was startled by the horrible smell of the toast burning.

"Oh my God!" She exclaimed, reaching out to grab it, burning her hand in the process.

The metal grill clattered to the floor and Damon looked up, startled , but his gaze softened when he heard her whimper and the tears building in her eyes as she looked from her burning hand to the mess on the floor.

"Hey, Elena…" He started to say.

"I'm so sorry!" She told him, "Please, I f-forgot i-it! I'm sorry, don't hurt me…"

"Elena!" He turned her around gently. "It's okay, Elena. You don't have to be like this around me. I'm not going to hurt you. It's okay, I'll just put two more slices." He opened her fingers and put an ice cube on the burn. "Okay?"

"No, Damon, this is not okay! None of this is!" Elena exclaimed. "I know that you are trying to help and I appreciate that. But none of this is okay. You hurt me last night. A good part of my wounds are there because of you. Cooking breakfast and eating toast together won't make me feel any better."

"Look, Elena…"

"No, Damon," She said, raising her hands up. "Please. I can't bear to look at you right now. I just can't. I'm sorry."

And at that, Damon was left alone again.


Thoughts? Reviews?

A thing I should point out is that the organization works like most organizations do. The people at the top have less chance of being caught because there are many people doing the dirty work for them, so that if anything happens, the persons that get caught are always 'the lowest'.

Thank you for your wonderful comments.

Would like to thank PorkChopSmall for her help :)) xxx