A/N- Happy Holidays Everyone. So this chapter was supposed to be the next instalment of Klaroline but I realised that I needed to catch up on what Elena and the rest of the gang was up to that horrible night- so this is a Meanwhile: Back at the Boarding house chapter that will be two-parts, this is part one and I've tried to capture fully Elena's personality and her general and sexual naiveté and self-involvement, for lack of a less offensive word, for contrast between her and Caroline because I believe there is a vast difference in maturity between the two of them portrayed on the show.

Elena's POV

Klaus was a father?!

In what world is it fair that when I lose every family member I've ever had or adopted, he somehow manages to procreate by sheer accident?

I can't understand the look on Caroline's face when Matt breaks the news to us but I assume it's something between shock, hurt and confusion over feeling both those emotions.

After all, I know I felt the same when Damon slept with Rebekah.

Esther and Mikael probably should have stopped procreating after Elijah. He's really the only decent Original sibling.

Caroline scrambles to her feet and mutters something about checking on the witches, she shuffles out of the room and Matt scratches the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Maybe I'll uh…go check the roster at work"

I blink and then remember that he still has a job at the Grill.

Or at least I think he does even though he essentially lives in the Boarding House now.

For me, the world outside of Mystic Falls no longer exists and the domain beyond the Salvatore property line is shadowy and ephemeral at best.

This is my land and the sum total of my existence until Silas is destroyed and the world is safe to venture out into once more.

Damon's bedroom is my sanctuary and paradise. Stefan's cell is the hell where I suffer daily for my crimes. The rest of the house is purgatory, where I meet and interact with others but only because I am enroute between my two destinations. Between my two brothers.

As always, Damon and Stefan pull me apart.

Especially now when I have to get up off this mattress and numerous duvets and throws to go find Caroline and make sure that she is alright. I turn to Stefan with a sigh, watching him from lowered eyes as he shifts and shuffles until he is under his protective blankets, safe from even the slightest of breezes. Not that there's any chance of a breeze down here, not after Damon covered and filled even the slightest cracks to ensure his brother's comfort.

And he was successful.

I reach over and squeeze his hand before pushing myself to my feet. I'm at the door of the cell before his voice softly calls me back,

"Elena?"

If he has any questions about the chance of it raining later I'll break down in tears…

"Yeah Stefan?" I ask, forcing cheeriness into my tone, but when I turn back to really see him I realise how exhaustion and misery radiate from him,

He draws a ragged breath, "I am trying…to get better I mean. I don't want…I hate being like this, I hate you seeing me like this"

I want to stride across the room and take him into my arms, hold him and promise him that he will get better.

But I can't lie and I can't be the cause of suspicion for Damon, or the cause of his heartbreak.

I can't be Katherine.

So I settle for a loving smile, "I know…just keep trying…we're all here for you"

By the time I get upstairs to the parlour Caroline has literally built a wall around herself with grimoires and stationery, she's sticky-noting pages, cross-referencing and doing other stuff I've never really understood.

So when she essentially ignores me I have to assume it's because she's in her study zone and not because she's stewing over Klaus going and knocking up some nobody and then Tyler abandoning her after she waited around all summer for him to come back while I had the best holiday of my life.

Leaving her to her busy work I continue my trek upstairs to Damon's office- which before this summer I never actually realised he used. Turns out it's where he does all his taxes and share-trading, portfolio managing and keeping track of the family line and now he even looks after Jeremy and my inheritance.

Although he is trying to teach Jeremy how to invest wisely.

When I enter the room I think that's what they're doing because as per usual Damon is leaning against the desk and has Jeremy in a headlock, rubbing his scalp with his knuckles while my little brother tries to break his grip and they're arguing about something.

Then I see the books on the desk instead of the papers. Ignoring Jeremy's calls for help I sit down and read the titles,

The Prince, The Great Gatsby, 1984…

"Jeremy's reading list for the year" Damon explains when I look up, he grunts as Jeremy tries to shank him with a pen,

"Stop fighting you two" I scold and my boyfriend finally releases my little brother and pulls up a chair beside me,

"Fortunately his teachers don't feel the need to revolutionise his learning or expand his knowledge properly, so most of the books are easy reads" Damon explains, his hand resting on my bare thigh and running up to my denim shorts,

"In fact somebody would have finished reading them already if he had just started when I bought those books the first week of summer"

Jeremy rolls his eyes, "We're supposed to read the books in class…right Elena?"

I nod, although the closest I ever came to my required readings was and the summary sheet Caroline did for all our classes. I may have also cheated off Stefan during tests…a lot.

I had other things on my mind.

"Still," I clear my throat as Damon's hand runs back down to my knee and then trails up my smooth skin again, I'd waxed my legs the other night and he's been enjoying them ever since,

"A head start couldn't hurt Jer"

My boyfriend snorts, "Proving to me that he's not illiterate couldn't hurt"

I see the distress flash through my brother's eyes. As much as he hates to admit it, he looks up to Damon and he'd prefer to receive unspoken praise rather than veiled disappointment.

Still, they're men so they aren't going to sit down and talk this out properly.

"Weren't you expelled from most of your schools?" Jeremy argues, Damon rolls his eyes,

"Yes but by that time I was fluent in four languages and could read in five, you can barely manage the English language…"

"Just…" I interrupt before they start talking with their fists again. Even with his hunter skills Jeremy could never defeat Damon but after over a century of violent but ultimately harmless wrestling with his own brother, Damon does forget that Jeremy isn't as durable as Stefan and that while Jeremy breaking one of his bones is a momentary hassle, Damon giving him a ruptured spleen is an awkward trip to the Emergency room.

"Try to start the readings okay?"

Jeremy runs a frustrated hand through his hair, "When Elena? When should I start the readings? Before or after Silas unleashes his next diabolical plan to kill us all? Before or after Stefan has another panic attack or when I'm trying to help Bonnie cope with being dead?"

Damon and I came way too late to this party, I more than anyone should have figured out that Jeremy isn't going to consider school work important when our lives can be an almost daily struggle to survive. Mystic Falls can be such a battlefield that mundane stuff such as obeying laws or going to school doesn't really seem important.

Jeremy's always been more creative than intellectual anyway.

Sighing, I get to my feet and step over Damon's legs to draw my little brother into a hug, remembering back when we were younger and he used to fight any displays of affection from me, now he'll often initiate the hugs seeming to enjoy the reminder that- despite everything- we're both still here and able to touch one another.

"We're going to figure this out okay" I whisper in his ear, "And I know it seems like a hassle but there's only one more year of high school and then we can move out of Mystic Falls…we can go anywhere you want and you can study or become a bartender or go on a long road trip somewhere without any supernatural creatures"

"I thought I was the one who smoked hallucinatory drugs" he jokes and I head-slap him but he catches the book Damon tosses to him as he walks out of the office.

I run a hand through my hair and slump against the back of Damon's chair, wrapping my arms around his shoulders and resting my chin on his head,

"He's a worthless delinquent" he says, mainly to get a rise out of me, "We should give him up for adoption"

I know that he's trying to get me angry to motivate me to do anything but turn off my emotions, but I just can't bring myself to snap at him. He's so used to being the target of everyone's hatred and abuse that after time he began to encourage it, he became the bad guy so that the rest of us could walk around with clearer consciences.

No one else might understand this but I'm the love of his life, I have to see past the years of loneliness, self-loathing and psychological scar tissue to the real man underneath, the good man who watches out for all of us, who will save us and risk his life for ours without question and without ever being truly thanked or cared for.

So I tilt his head back and kiss him, pressing my lips to his and getting the permission he always so quickly gives, like his heart he hands it to me readily and is always surprised the few times I don't hand it back in pieces, he parts his lips and allows me to slip my tongue inside his mouth, deepening the kiss as my hair falls over his face. I shift my arms to pull him closer but he breaks the kiss with a smirk,

"That won't work" he tells me gently, before wrapping an arm around my waist and guiding me over the chair so I'm sitting sideways on his lap,

"Better?" he asks and I swivel so that my legs are wrapped around the back of the chair and I'm straddling him, "Much"

I roll my hips and press myself hard against his groin. He gives a breathy moan of delight, "Oh that feels good"

"Hmmm" I kiss him again and the world disappears, all our troubles are gone. I scratch his scalp with my fingernails and lean forward so my breasts are rubbing against his chest. I whimper his name in a way I know sends him into a frenzy and giggle when he playfully rains kisses on my face and neck while his hands go from fondling my denim clad ass to slipping under my loose t-shirt and fondling my breasts.

"Keep quiet" he whispers in my ear, "We have a house at full capacity right now"

I nod and almost immediately break my promise when he pushes my t-shirt out of the way and nudges my bra down to get to my left breast.

"Yes," I push his head harder against me, "Yes, Damon god yes"

I nearly break my shorts as I unbutton them and almost tear my nails attacking his leather belt, he either tries to stop me or help me I'm not entirely sure so I just slap his hands away,

"Put those somewhere useful"

"Maybe we should bookmark this and come back later" he suggests, "You know, once the witches have gone back to Motel Misery for the night?"

I don't think he likes the idea of me doing the walk of shame in a household full of judgemental witches.

But we haven't been together in days, not since the night Matt got back from Europe, there either hasn't been time or we haven't been able to get in the mood.

And if we wait any longer something worse is going to happen and then I'll have my first dry spell since Damon learnt about the sire bond.

I remember being sired to Damon, wanting so badly to kiss and touch him and the pain of withholding because I knew that was what he wanted. He wanted me to stay away and not worship him in the wondrous way that he deserved.

There's nothing worse than finally getting a taste of the dark desire that has been tempting you every day for over a year and then being told that you can't have that experience ever again.

Remembering this sensation, this feeling of loss, I unzip his fly and kiss him again,

"Why are you wearing boxers?" I moan in complaint, he rolls his eyes, "Same reason you're wearing panties"

He slips his hand past my buttons and cups me, forcing his way through the lace and tight denim clinging to my skin, I thrust against his fingers as they slide easily through my arousal.

"I want you" I beg, pressing my lips to his warm jaw, "Please Damon"

He groans, looking up at me with pained light blue eyes, desire and the beginnings of despair,

"We don't have the time"

I roll my hips again and lift myself up enough so that he can reposition his hand and slip a finger inside me, I'm panting and clenching around him, my body aching for him, burning with a fire I know that he'll build up and quench "Then we'll make it quick"

He snorts and lets that be the signal of his disbelief and I don't blame him.

Four months we've been together and not once have we had a 'quickie'

We've tried, when we've both been horny and pressed for time we'd tried to be quick but somehow, even if we only planned for a half hour session two or three or once five hours later we'd still be wrapped up in one another and forgetting everything except how amazing sex can be even when we're so exhausted we can only just pull our clothes on and climb back up to the couch.

But there is a first time for everything.

I jerk my head towards the desk, "Take me there," I suggest shamelessly, "From behind so I don't even have to take my shorts off"

He gets even harder and I worry his boxer briefs will cut off what little circulation he has. His eyes flash red, veins dance and I know I've got him, his jaw clenches and he swallows,

"You sure?" he asks tightly, his eyes still blood red, I nod ignoring the butterflies in my stomach.

I'm still really new to non-super-vanilla sex, before Damon I'd never even strayed from the missionary position and we were both super aware of that fact. Since our first time he'd been easing me into the world of sexual pleasures and varying levels of kink.

But he's never bent me over a desk before.

I'm excited by the thought of quick, hard love-making in his office.

He slides his hand away from me and my body clenches again in desire, he wraps his arms around my waist and stands slowly, holding me up and allowing me to pull my legs out of the chair. When I'm standing he grabs my hair and yanks my head back so he can kiss me hard with his tongue invading my mouth.

"Turn around"

I spin and brace my hands on the edge of the desk, hoping I don't forget and damage the wood with my nails because like everything else in the house this looks like a really expensive antique. Damon loops his thumbs through the belt buckles of my shorts and slowly eases them down to my knees and they drop to my sneakers, he crouches down and helps me get one foot free and then spreads my legs further apart. I'm quivering in anticipation as he kisses his way up the back of my legs and thighs, he nips at the flesh on my ass and I squeak in surprise, turning to glare over my shoulder, he grins and flickers his eyes before undoing his own pants and getting himself free.

He runs his large hand down my back, sending tingles racing up and down my spine and positioning me gently, bending over to plant little kisses on my shoulder blades.

I'm caught between wanting to look over my shoulder so I can watch everything and fixing my gaze on the window behind the desk so I'll be able to fixate on every touch and be surprised when he takes me.

After a summer of Damon I'm no longer an expert at denying myself any kind of pleasure so I steal a quick glance.

His jeans are open and he's ready to go, he's gazing at me with the dark passion and desire I see every time we make love, he's still wearing his shirt, just like I am and somehow this makes everything feel naughtier, more mature. He guides himself to the core of my soaked arousal and I face the window just as he slams into me.

"Oh my god" I moan as he fills me entirely and finds my g-spot. His own response is a duet of laughter and a grunt of satisfaction, I smile and roll my eyes at his ego. "Not too loud" he reminds me and I nod, leaning forward as he moves his hips and pulls out to slam into me again.

He sets a quick pace and I feel the all too familiar build-up of ecstasy, I curl my hands into fists and rest my forehead on my arms, my hips hit the edge of the desk once before Damon shifts so his hands are holding them and protecting me from even the smallest discomfort. I feel a wave of arousal and love overwhelm me, I tighten my muscles around him, "Fuck, Damon you feel so good!"

I can almost taste his satisfaction, but before he can say anything we hear footsteps in the hall outside and dread hits me in a wave.

Oh please let that door be locked.

"Uh guys…" Matt knocks on the thin plank of wood protecting us from the outside world, "Are you in there?"

I cover my mouth as Damon curses, "Private meeting Donovan, you want to talk you can make an appointment with my goddamn secretary"

"Uh…it's time to start cooking dinner and you don't like me touching your grill without you there to supervise"

"He'll be out in a minute" I tell my ex-boyfriend and try to keep my voice even as my current boyfriend resumes thrusting,

"Okay" Matt sighs, "And uh…people can kind of hear the furniture being…you know…moved"

I want to die from embarrassment, I drop my head on the desk and feel my body burn with shame, Damon snarls,

"Leave Donovan, before I kill you!"

Matt's footsteps fade away and I can just bring myself to lift my head when Damon pulls out of me and slips an arm about my waist, lifting me up so that I'm pressed to his chest and he holds me there for a moment before spinning me around and lowering us both to the floor, he pushes on my shoulders so that I lean back and straddle him, he cups my face in his hands as I furiously blink away the tears in my eyes,

"Take as long as you need beautiful"

It seems I failed in our foray into doggy style over the desk and Damon is now willing to lie on a hard, cold wooden floor in the most vanilla position he can achieve without discomforting me in anyway. I kiss him deeply,

"I'm your life and you're my soul" I murmur, rolling my hips and arching my back, he fondles my breasts while I stroke my clit and ride him hard and fast, clenching my muscles up and down until he is panting and squeezing his eyes shut.

I'm close to the edge myself.

I orgasm first but he follows so closely after me I'm honestly surprised. We've never finished in unison before. I run a hand through my hair and slide off of him, leaning against the wall as he pulls himself up. I check the antique clock on the bookshelf, "Twenty minutes" I exclaim satisfactorily, "Not bad right?"

He smirks, "For a quickie"

We kiss and I stick my hand in the pocket of his jeans, grabbing out the handkerchief he always carries to clean blood off his face or hands when he feeds.

Five minutes later Damon is washing his hands in the kitchen before helping Matt prepare the buffet and I've flashed back to our room and am blushing as I shower, even though there's two locked doors and a bedroom between me and the rest of the world.

I distract myself from the embarrassment by musing on Caroline and her bizarre relationship with Klaus.

The Original Hybrid.

I think Klaus and Caroline met two or three times before they ever truly saw one another. The night of the sacrifice he had captured her as a substitute vampire before Damon rescued her and he took my aunt Jenna. He ignored her the night he made Tyler into a hybrid, so I'm not sure when she finally appeared on his radar but once she did he never let her off it.

Klaus is one thousand years old, I don't know what it is exactly he sees in Caroline but whatever it is has been extremely useful. There was so many times we were positive that he was going to discover our plans or kill us and Caroline always managed to distract him or broker some deal with him where we got to live another day. Eventually Klaus even started working with us during the hunt for the cure just so he could be around Caroline, because if he'd truly wanted to he probably could have compelled a hundred different vampires to find it for him.

And I don't know what Caroline felt or feels for Klaus but it's hard to ignore someone or feel nothing for someone when their eyes light up every time you enter the room or when you know that you have the power to change their mind or make them drop everything to do what you ask of them, or when you see them at the end of a long day at a ball or dance and they literally can't seem to stop themselves from crossing the room to be near you.

I'm remembering the Mikaelson ball when Damon and I waltzed together and when he couldn't stop himself from declaring his love for me. I feel bad about my response of course but I've done my best to make up for it since.

I'm towel-drying my hair when Damon tries to get into the bedroom and staggers against the locked door, "Elena?" he knocks and I grin,

"Matt will be out in a second Damon" I tease but I don't get the usual response, I cross the room and open the door, my concern growing when I see the expression on his face,

"What is it?"

He sighs, "Caroline's wandered off and Elijah Mikaelson is downstairs with the mother of all fucktastrophes"

Oh.

Good thing we got that quickie in when we did then.