The next Elena knew, she was being laid on a soft bed that smelled like Stefan, and he and Damon were talking over her head – literally, ha ha, she thought tiredly to herself, God, she had never felt so tired and drained before – Elena, you should go on tour with these puns –
Then someone tried to take Damon's leather jacket off of her abused body, and she cried out weakly, turning her head on the pillow in protest. The coat remained where it was as whoever was trying to remove it stopped. There was dead silence. She slitted her eyes open slightly to see Stefan above her, hands still on the jacket, eyes horrified as he stared down at her in shock. Then he glanced over at Damon, who was standing right next to him, an identical look on his face.
Stefan shook his head and took a deep breath, eyes back on her. She struggled to open her eyes all the way, but it wasn't going too well.
"Elena, we have to see what's wrong so we can make it better," Stefan said to her in a low, soothing voice, like one would speak to a wounded, cornered animal. Damon took her left hand, holding it in his warm grip, as he too stared at her, almost transfixed, blue eyes wide.
Elena's breath snagged in her chest as she fought to calm down – this was Stefan, for God's sake, her boyfriend, he loved her – and Damon, who she knew at least cared for her – they wouldn't hurt her, why had she reacted like that?
Ever so slowly, Stefan once again started to lift the leather from her, and this time she didn't fight him. As he absently handed it over to Damon, who tossed it onto the floor like it wasn't even important, she heard him say a few very bad words as he looked down at her. She closed her eyes and turned her head away in embarassment; she was a mess.
"I don't even know where to fucking start," she heard Stefan say in a defeated tone of voice. Then she felt his hand on her bruised cheek, gently but insistently turning her face back to them.
"Elena, sweetheart, we're going to take care of this now," he said tenderly, stroking her cheek and hair. "You have to trust us, okay? We're not going to hurt you, baby."
She made some sort of tiny noise, which he must have taken for compliance, because his next words were to Damon.
"I'll do the blood, you close the wounds," she heard him say and then she heard Stefan bite into his own wrist. Then it was in front of her mouth, she could feel it on her lips.
"Come on, Elena, drink, honey," he insisted in a soft voice, and she opened her mouth a little, that familiar copper taste dripping onto her tongue, making her stomach clench, but she didn't close her mouth.
Surprisingly, she felt weight on the bed, and opened her eyes a little to see Damon almost on top of her. Again, almost feeling like she wasn't in control of herself, she made a whimpering noise and tried to get up, to get away, but Damon grabbed her arms in a firm yet gentle grip and brought his face closer to hers as Stefan moved his wrist away in shock.
"Elena! I'm not going to hurt you!" he insisted, eyes fixed on hers. "I would never – Stefan would never hurt you…" He gave her the gentlest of shakes, like he was trying to calm a hysterical, wounded animal, and she acquiesced, sinking down into the bed, trying hard to relax. He let out a breath and glanced up at his brother, who once again brought his bloody wrist back to her mouth. Obediently, she parted her lips slightly as drops of Stefan's blood landed in her mouth…
…and at the same time Damon moved his head down to her neck, where Frederick had bitten her so cruelly, and she actually felt his warm mouth ghosting over the nasty bloody wound. She could just see his face, and she was surprised to see him vamp out. Was he going to bite her? she thought hysterically, and almost as if he knew she was scared again, his grip tightened again on her upper arms.
"Shhh, Elena, hold still," he said softly against her skin, and then she felt him lick her there, not just once but several times, slowly, so slowly, and it actually felt kind of good, soothing even, his warm wet tongue where it hurt so badly. She relaxed slightly, and his grip loosened on her as he licked again and again.
Stefan took his wrist away for a few minutes to bite into it again – the punctures had begun to close up already – and she saw Damon look up at his brother, face still scarily vamped, eyes stoplight red and fangs sparkling in the lamp light, almost as if he were hesitating to continue with what he was doing. Stefan didn't look terribly happy about it, but he nodded slightly and Damon glanced up at Elena, blue irises startling against all the red, and then his head went down further, above her right breast. Frederick's second bite. She watched as Stefan's wrist came back down to her lips again, and as she accepted more slow drips of his blood, his life, she felt Damon's breath on her skin before he slowly, so slowly, licked her seeping wounds again.
This time it was way different than her neck, and she actually felt her nipples grow hard, weak and damaged as she was, and she prayed nobody noticed, or heard how her heartbeat sped up a little and she breathed just a little faster. Damon has to notice, even if Stefan doesn't, she thought wildly, and why was he doing this?
Then he was done, carefully lifting himself from her, standing up next to Stefan again, who finally removed his wrist from her mouth and stroked her hair, searching her face. Damon reached over to the table behind him, coming up with a bowl and cloth, handing it over to Stefan, his face going back to normal, fangs disappearing and eyes clearing to white again, but now strangely flat and unreadable.
"You handle the rest," he muttered to Stefan, giving Elena one last burning blue look with those shuttered eyes, before turning and leaving the room, picking up his jacket as he went and closing the door behind him.
"This is just warm water, Elena," Stefan whispered to her, putting the bowl on the night table before he reached over her. Before he could do anything else, however, she found the strength to shake her head, actually succeeding in sitting up a little.
"I – can I take a bath, please, Stefan?" she asked haltingly, aware of how she sounded. "I feel so – I just want to be clean, please – "
He looked so sad as his lips pressed together and he nodded, reaching out to touch her face again, which now didn't hurt so much. She glanced down at her bites, shocked to see that they were completely gone, just the tiniest of pink marks where Frederick's teeth had marred her skin. Her gaze flew back up to Stefan in wonder, and he smiled slightly at her.
"That's what Damon was doing…closing the wounds," he explained as he slid his arms underneath her poor body, lifting her up against him and carrying her into the bathroom. "It's something that comes with drinking human blood, like compulsion."
He cradled her against him in one arm while he started up the hot water and shook some of her flowery bath crystals into the tub, sitting back down in the window seat and balancing her on his lap. He tugged her shirt back over her, and she turned her face into his chest and started to cry, halting sobs like a little child, one hand clutching his flannel shirt. He rocked her, rubbing her back, making little shushing sounds as he held her tight against him.
Elena heard a noise but didn't look up as she continued to weep, and felt Stefan shift his head very slightly as he looked over towards the door.
"She's alright," she heard him say, and then she felt a slight breeze. Damon, leaving.
Stefan held her until the tub was almost full of lightly scented pink water, and then very slowly, as if he was afraid she would try to escape his grasp, he pulled her torn and bloody clothing from her abused body, stroking her skin with his warm hands, before he turned and placed her carefully into the bathtub, as if she were made of glass and would break if he wasn't careful.
Elena sighed deeply as the hot water closed over her and she settled into the deep porcelain tub. Stefan hit a button, and jets started bubbling up against her body, turning the water into a whirlpool. She closed her eyes as Stefan touched her hair, stroking it lightly as he bent over her, kissing her forehead.
"I'll go get you something clean to wear," he murmured against her mouth, and she nodded, opening her eyes and looking up at him in gratitude. His green eyes still looked so pained, but he gave her a little smile and turned, leaving the bathroom. Feeling better, but still so tired, she closed her eyes and drifted, trying very hard not to think about the past few hours… she had been so scared, and then hurt, and then that asshole had touched her…and worse…but the water felt so good, and it was so nice to just lay here, letting the water heal her…
Elena must have fallen asleep, because the next she knew, Stefan was lifting her out of the now-cooling water and wrapping her in a soft-sweet-smelling towel, carrying her away to the bed, where he painstakingly dressed her in clean underwear and another of his soft, button-down shirts, blue this time, before tucking her into his deep, soft bed….she felt him lay down next to her, taking her into his arms, and she pillowed her head on his bicep, closing her eyes, feeling safe and warm and cherished, drifting off again in Stefan's protective arms….but again, her mind turned just for a brief second to Damon, and that look on his face when he had lifted himself from her body…
