Hey guys ;) Sorry about the wait, I've been busy and this took a while to write. It's a longe one, so I hope you enjoy it :D

4x15 was...I can't even. I cried from 8:02 (2 mins after it started) to 9:10 (10 mins after it ended)

I think Damon did the right thing by turning her humanity off. It was the only way, I believe. Your thoughts?

Enjoy the chapter ;)

Klaus's icy blue eyes still shone with the same kind of sick, twisted humor. His blue eyes weren't warm like Damon's. There was not an ounce of sympathy or mercy in them - there was nothing but cold ice.

She knew exactly what was going to happen next. And it did. His hand clapped over her mouth, and she let out a muffled shriek, twisting desperately.

"Damon!" She cried helplessly, pushing his hand off. "Damon, help!"

"Damon won't help you. Not this time." Klaus said smoothly, re-placing his hand over her mouth and silencing her for good. "This time, you won't get help, my sweet Elena."

And then with that, they were gone.

Damon sighed, picking up his and Elena's drinks and carrying them back to their table. It was starting to get on his nerves how so many people had given him and Elena judging looks - what exactly was so bad about being human? He knew it was against the law to treat Elena the way he was...but still. Why did people care so much?

"Here you go." He murmured, setting the drink down in front of...

An empty chair.

"Elena?"

Suddenly, he was on full alert. He set the drinks down on the table and turned, scanning the room. Where was she? The restroom? But there was no women's restroom.

"Elena?" He repeated her name, his eyes still searching for her slender figure. She was wearing her black slave dress, and the little white snowboots she'd found in the manor. Straight brown hair, wide brown doe eyes, gorgeous features...she was impossible to miss.

Except she wasn't there.

In the front of the tavern was the counter and the bar where he'd just come from. She most certainly wasn't among the crowd of vampire up there. The rest of the room was full of the tables and chairs like the ones they'd been sitting at. So where was she?

"Don't talk to anyone and keep your eyes down."

That's what he'd told her to do, right? Elena would have no reason to disobey him. He knew she was far too frightened to make eye contact or talk to any of the vampires in this room - hell, in this town, apart from him and Caroline.

It didn't make sense. No women's restroom. No reason to disobey him. No one to-

No one to take her.

Or not.

Damon's eyes flickered over to the backdoor of the tavern. If she had left the building, she couldn't have used the front door - he'd have seen from his spot by the bar and counter. But if she'd had a reason to leave, or had been forced to, she would've used the back door.

Been forced to leave. Had someone...taken her? Had someone kidnapped Elena?

Damon strode back up to the counter. "I need to see the records of purchases today." He spat at the man behind the counter. The man looked bewildered.

"Why?"

"It's important."

The man - vampire - behind the counter pushed a book over to him, and Damon quickly flipped it open, running his finger down today's page. There was a list of names and what the people whose names they belonged to had bought.

But nothing in the list names popped out at him. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Wait.

At the bottom of the page, one name had been carefully written in long, elegant handwriting. A name that chilled Damon to the very bone.

Klaus Mikaelson.

The wagon rolled over another large bump in the road, causing Elena's small body to be lifted up and slammed back down harshly on the cold wooden floor again. She let out a muffled sob into the gag that Klaus had cruelly tied around her mouth, letting more tears leak from her eyes and onto the floor below her.

When Klaus had taken her from the tavern, he'd knocked her out cold. She'd woken up here, in a carriage presumably, with her ankles and wrists bound, a gag stuffed in her mouth, and a bag over her head, obscuring her vision completely.

Her last image of Damon had been of him leaning against the counter, ordering their drinks, his back turned to her. He probably didn't care that she was missing. Maybe he didn't know. Maybe he was happy.

And yet despite that, Elena was begging god that he did care. That Damon knew she was gone, and that he was worried. That he'd come running after them, stake Klaus, and carry her back to the manor. He'd tuck her into her bed - maybe even give her an extra blanket - bring her a glass of hot coco, and offer to spend the night with her. And that's where she would stay: wrapped up in his arms, listening to his soothing words.

But Damon wasn't here, he didn't care - or know where she was - and he wasn't coming to save her.

Still. He'd been so kind to her today - buying her so many clothes that it must have cost him a fortune. Then there was the skating rink. The way he called her 'Elena'. How he'd taken off her collar.

The wagon rolled to a stop, and Elena's stomach filled with icy fear. This was it. Klaus was going to take her out, tie her down to a bed, rape her, and kill her.

Hands wrapped around her waist, roughly pulling her from the wagon and dragging her along a rough surface. She could feel dirt underneath her feet; small rocks and twigs cut into her bare feet - her snowboots were gone.

Elena was dragged along the ground for a while before she heard a door opening and closing. Suddenly, her feet came into contact with cold cement - so she must've been inside now. But where?

The bag was pulled off her head and she found herself staring into Klaus's icy blue eyes once more. She looked around. He must've taken her back to his manor - and brought her in through the basement.

"Hello, sweetheart."

"W-what do y-you w-want from m-me?" Elena struggled to keep her voice firm. Because she knew exactly what he wanted from her, and knew that her fate was now sealed. No one would come to save her this time.

"I think you know very well what I want from you." Klaus said coolly.

"P-please just l-let m-me g-go...I h-haven't done a-anything w-wrong..."

"Quiet." He said sharply. "You belong to me now, and you will do as I say."

"I belong to Damon!" Elena said defiantly, feeling a rush of courage flood through her. Klaus couldn't just take her. She belonged to Damon. She might be his slave, but that meant that she belonged to him and no one else. Even if he didn't care.

Klaus let out a snarl. "How dare you talk to me like that, you filthy little wretch!" He roared, and pushed Elena. She stumbled backwards and twirled around, realizing with a sickening jolt that there was a set of stairs behind her. They were also cold cement - and appeared to lead down to a cell.

Klaus gave her another shove, and Elena screamed. She fell face-first down the stairs, tumbling and rolling and screaming in pain. It seemed to last forever - this searing, white hot agony that shot through every inch of her body.

When she finally reached the bottom, her eyes were blurry and she couldn't see. She could smell blood - her own, of course - all around her and realized that a large pool of it had gathered by her head. And her stomach. And her legs. And-

Oh god, she was bleeding everywhere. Everything felt bruised and bloody, and as Klaus shut the heavy metal door, trapping her inside the cell, Elena's vision faded to black.

Damon sat on the bed, his head in his hands. He'd laid out all Elena's newly-bought clothes on her little bed, promising himself that she would see them. She was going to come home. He was going to find her, and then he was going to bring her home.

He could just imagine the smile that would light up her face as she saw all her new clothes laid out for her, ready to wear. She'd laugh and twirl and clap her hands in delight, all the worry gone from her features.

Except that Klaus had her.

Damon stared at the name, the words refusing to sink into his mind. Klaus Mikaelson. Klaus had taken Elena. He had her, and she was defenseless and weak.

This couldn't be happening. Why would he want her? Revenge? For what?

It didn't make sense. And yet it did. He didn't know why Elena had been taken, but it had definitely been Klaus that had taken her.

He flashed over to the back entrance to the tavern, stepping out into the alley and looking around. There were no signs of struggle - of course not. Klaus wouldn't want that. No evidence, and yet it was blatantly obvious that this was where she'd been kidnapped.

They would be long gone by now. Klaus was an original - it would have taken him merely seconds to get them to the front of the village and into a carriage of some sort. And it had been at least...what, 7 minutes now? Yes, they'd be long gone.

So what was he supposed to do about it?

Elena was just a slave. Why did it matter if she died or not?

But it did. It mattered for reasons he could not yet comprehend. No, he was not going to let Elena Gilbert die. He was going to find Klaus, save Elena, and keep her safe for the rest of her time with him.

He knew exactly where Klaus lived - he'd been there dozens of times. But that wasn't the problem. The problem was sneaking in, finding Elena, and sneaking her out.

Besides...was there any point? It would be too late anyway, wouldn't it? Klaus would surely have taken everything from Elena by the time he got there. He would rape her. That would destroy Elena permanently.

Meaning he had to find her before Klaus took the chance and did it.

Damon rummaged through the clothes. He hadn't wanted to just leave them back in the town, because he was going to find her. She wouldn't appreciate them all being left behind, would she?

"Elena, you're safe with me." He'd said as he took her out of the alley.

"Stay here. You're safe." He'd told her in the tavern.

Christ. He'd promised her she would be safe. He'd promised. And now she wasn't.

Deep down, he knew it was too late. She could be dead already.

Which was part of the reason why he hadn't gone to get her yet. He had no plan. And what if...what if she really was dead? What if he got there and had to see her dead body? Or if he managed to sneak her out...but she'd already been raped? How would he ever repair her?

But he had to try.

He picked up the little black lace dress he'd bought for her, feeling the delicate fabric in his hands. It was now or never. If he waited any longer it would surely be too late - although it probably already was.

He stood up, leaving the slave quarters and speeding down the stairs to the front door. Damon grabbed his leather jacket and stepped outside, wondering how in the hell he was going to manage this.

~4 hours since Elena fell down the stairs~

Elena's eyes slowly opened, and she struggled to focus them. After a minute, everything that was blurry became clear again - the same with her thoughts.

She remembered saying something rude to Klaus. Then, he'd pushed her down the cold stone steps and locked the door at the bottom of them, leaving her trapped in this cell.

She couldn't move a muscle. Elena twitched her fingers, and flinched. Her fingers were definitely broken then. It looked like one of her legs was too - and maybe one of her arms. There were bruises all over her body, but that was just the parts that weren't covered by clothing. Under her dress there was bound to be a hundred more.

She could feel dried blood on her temple, and all over the rest of her body. How badly was she hurt exactly? She needed to be sure.

Wincing, Elena slowly turned her head to the left. The movement brought unexpected shoots of pain throughout her entire body, and she let out a shriek of agony.

From the angle her head was at now, she could see that she was lying in pools of her own blood. The damage wasn't minor. Her body was broken.

The metal door had been locked tightly, and through the wide bars and tiny slits she could see the cold steps she'd fallen down. There were patches of blood on those, too.

No one appeared to be coming. Not Klaus, not one of his slaves...not Damon.

No one.

But she was quickly contradicted when footsteps echoed down the stairs, the noise startling her. Elena tried to move backwards, but every movement just caused her 100 times more pain than the last.

The door swung open and Klaus gazed down at her. "I see that fall didn't do you any good." He said coldly, taking in her bruised and bloody body.

Elena swallowed painfully. "P-Please let me go." She croaked.

Klaus smiled. "Where would be the fun in that?" He knelt down beside her body and the rush of fear that shot through Elena caused adrenaline to surge through her body. She sat up, holding back screams of pain, and backed away.

"S-stay a-away!"

But Klaus only inched closer to her, his stance predatory.

"D-Damon will k-kill you for t-this!" She lied.

He shook his head. "Damon? Do you honestly think Damon cares about you?" Klaus laughed cruelly, rolling his eyes. "Damon will be happy to have you off his back. He could never care about a worthless slave like you."

"N-no!" Elena blurted, refusing to believe him.

"Yes. Worthless. Meaningless. Your existence is pointless to him. You're a slave. A teenager. A human. A girl. He doesn't care about you in the slightest." Klaus was now pressed up against her, his cool breath fanning across her neck.

Elena could only shiver in fear. This couldn't be happening. It wasn't.

Klaus's fangs extended, and she screamed, backing into the wall. He followed her, tightening his fist in her hair and yanking her head back. Her long neck now lay exposed to him, and without a second thought, Klaus tore his fangs into her silky olive flesh.

Damon had never liked Klaus's manor. Not one bit. Even after all these years, it still bothered him. He didn't like the feel of it. Every room you went in felt like a dungeon, like you were Klaus's prisoner, and he hated that.

He knew Elena would too.

He wondered if she was still alive. Damon's heart was pounding, and his throat felt dry - he hadn't felt like that in a century. What if she was dead? What if he had to see her dead body, her lifeless corpse? What if, when he got there, he had to watch Klaus kill her?

Except he was already here, crouched outside the manor. There was no turning back now.

His best bet was to take the stone steps that led down to what must've been the cellars. But he couldn't hear any heartbeat but his own...where the hell was she?

It was possible that Klaus had taken her somewhere else. But why would he? He knew no one could defeat him, so there was no point in running with her.

It didn't matter now, though. He had to find Elena, now. Before it was...before it was too late.

Without a second thought, Damon flashed down the stone steps. Using vampire speed was probably his best bet - he needed to do this quickly.

He broke the knob of the door off and stepped into the corridor, looking around. Long rows of cells greeted him, the bars wide with slim cracks.

There were no brown haired, doe-eyed girls in any of them. He couldn't hear any hearbeats, hear any screams, or smell any blood. What the hell was Klaus planning on doing to her, then?

"S-stop!" Elena sobbed, hugging herself and backing away from Klaus. He'd just removed his fangs from her neck - for the fifth time. They'd been at this for hours. He wouldnt' stop feeding from her, no matter how much she begged him to stop. But now, after so much blood loss...she felt faint; she knew she was going to collapse any second now.

"I'm surprised." Klaus purred. "Hasn't Damon fed from you more often? I thought you'd be used to this." He pushed Elena backwards, and her head slammed into the stone wall, causing her to emit another yelp of pain.

Elena thought back to the times Damon had fed from her. The first time had been painless - it was the night he'd held that stupid party. The second time had been a few days later; she'd been cleaning the floors early in the morning and he'd come in and forced his fangs into her. That time it had hurt. The third time it had hurt even more. He'd just pulled her out of the lake, and he was so angry that he basically just attacked her, even after she'd come so close to death. And the fourth and final time had been around two days after that - when she'd tried to please him by being a good slave.

Damon had been rough, yes. It had definitely hurt, had definitely been painful. And no, he hadn't had a lot of mercy for her.

But Damon would never do this. He would never repeatedly feed from her like Klaus was. Klaus, who was obviously trying to drain her dry.

"Elena." Klaus called, and she was broken out of her thoughts. She stared at him in fear, her eyes wide.

Klaus leaned in close, his gaze catching hers. His icy blue eyes stared into hers, not a trace of warmth or pity in them. "I want you," Klaus began. "To hold your breath."

Elena's eyes widened. "W-what?"

"Hold your breath." Klaus hissed, and she realized with a sickening jolt that he was compelling her. And there was nothing she could do to stop it.

All of a sudden, she found her body reacting to his words. No, no, no...But it was too late. Her mouth instantly closed and she stopped her chest from moving.

Klaus smiled cruelly at her. "Isn't it so much easier when you have no choice?" He drawled. Elena made a choking sound, her lungs already beginning to burn from lack of air.

"Good girl." He mused, watching as she tried to force her body to allow itself to breathe.

She knew it was useless to struggle, and so she stopped. After a minute or so, Elena's face began to turn blue and her chest convulsed.

"K-laus!" She choked. Was he actually going to kill her?

But the monster of a man refused to let up. Instead, he only watched her with amused eyes. "Maybe I should call Damon." Klaus said, shrugging. "He might get a laugh out of watching this."

Her vision began to go black, and she slumped to the ground, knowing this was the end. The tips of her vision were now completely dark, and slowly, the centre began to fade away too...

"Stop."

Elena gasped for breath, letting tears escape her eyes. Yet another difference between Klaus and her real owner. Damon would never have done that for so long. She remembered the time he'd tried to choke her - but still, he would never have kept it up like that.

Klaus glanced at his watch. "It's getting late. And there are things I still have planned for today." A smirk crept onto his face, and Elena screamed aloud, despite the pains it sent through her chest.

She knew what was coming.

Klaus stalked towards her. She was still lying splayed out on the ground - she hadn't been able to get up once, meaning that she'd been right in her predictions. Her leg was definitely broken.

It didn't help that she had no weapons. No wood, stakes, or ver-

Oh god.

Vervain.

It was still in her pocket, the little leaf that the man had given her. As Klaus neared her, Elena dug her hand into the pocket of her dress, using her other arm to conceal what she was doing, and making it look like she was just putting her arm by her side.

Klaus knelt down by her, reaching for her dress. Just as he took a handful of it in his fist - to rip, presumably - Elena shoved the lock of vervain into his eyes.

Klaus howled in pain, releasing her dress and stumbling backwards. His hands went over his eyes and Elena crawled towards the cell door, holding back screams of pain as pressure was applied to her broken leg.

She pushed the metal door open and scrambled out. She needed to get up on her feet - but with her broken leg, how was she going to do that?

What the hell was she thinking? She had no idea how badly the vervain would wound Klaus. Her leg was broken - she couldn't walk, and there was no chance in hell that she could run. Even if she could, where would she go? She had no idea where this manor was. Even if she managed to get out of here, she couldn't go anywhere. Klaus would catch up to her, she didn't know how to get back to Damon, and Damon certaintly wasn't going to be waiting for her outside or anything.

Her best bet was to hide - but Klaus would eventually find her. Still, it could buy her some time. Maybe if she could get outside, she could limp into the woods or something. She'd stumble around for days, with her broken leg, but maybe she could find a way to a village or something.

There was a chance.

One chance in a million.

Except that she was still here, right outside the cell and not five feet from Klaus. Her leg was broken, her arm was broken, her body was broken. She was lying against the wall, coming up with a plan when she should be finding somewhere to hide.

Hiding from a vampire. It was laughable.

"Did you actually think that a little piece of vervain would stop me, the oldest vampire in the world?" Klaus laughed darkly, and then his eyes narrowed into tiny slits.

She watched his fangs extend, and let out a scream. He dragged her back inside the cell - by her broken leg, causing her to scream louder - and pushed her against the wall.

Within seconds, he'd ripped her dress to shreds. Elena held the pieces of it to her body, still screaming.

"Don't touch her." A voice snarled, and Elena froze. Her screams stopped at once, and slowly, she turned her head to the side.

He looked like he'd run the entire way here. His dark raven hair was messy and ruffled, and his hands were clenched into fists. Glacial blue eyes bored into hers, dark fire burning in them.

He'd come for her.

Damon.

"I said, don't touch her." Damon spat, and his eyes left hers to meet Klaus's. Klaus looked shocked, but he recovered quickly.

"Damon. Had I known you cared about this little brat, I wouldn't have stayed here." He said coolly.

"Hand her over.

"She's mine now."

"She's not yours!" Damon roared. "Now. Hand. Her. Over."

"No."

Damon lunged at Klaus, knocking him backwards into the stone wall. The two vampires rolled around, and Damon quickly gained the upperhand, pinning Klaus down and snarling.

"Forgetting I'm an original?" Klaus hissed, and in a mere second, he'd reversed their positions. Elena gasped in horror. What did Klaus mean by original? Was he really the oldest vampire in the world?

But that didn't matter now. Klaus's hand was getting dangerously close to the spot above Damon's heart, and Elena knew what was going to happen next.

"Damon!" She screamed. He pushed Klaus backwards, turning to look at her.

"Elena! Get me a stake!"

Elena's eyes widened. But...her leg. How on earth was she going to find a stake around here?

"Damon...my leg..." She cried helplessly.

"ELENA! NOW!" He tackled Klaus, and they fell to the ground again. Tears streamed down Elena's face. Damon needed a stake. Now. But her leg...

It didn't matter, Damon needed one and she was going to find one.

Crawling towards the cell entrance for the second time that day, Elena bit back sobs of pain. If Damon died because she wasn't fast enough...

Oh god. She'd forgotten about the large stone steps leading upstairs. She'd fallen down them yesterday night...how was she going to get back up? She needed to get on her feet. Placing her arms on the ground, Elena let out a scream of pain as she used her broken arm to push herself up to her feet.

Every muscle, bone, and vein in her body hurt like hell. It was definitely far more than her leg and arm that was broken. There were probably several ribs broken, her shoulder was probably out of place...and, oh right, her fingers and toes.

She staggered towards the steps. There was no railing...

Elena looked back. Damon and Klaus were still rolling around, their fists smashing into each others' noses. Damon's head turned to face her for a split second.

"ELENA! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?"

Her eyes widened and she stumbled up the steps. On the very top one, her leg gave out and she slipped, her chin smashing into the wall. Blood trickled from her nose and all she could taste was blood in her mouth.

Across the landing, there was a small wooden chair. If she could just break one of the legs off...

She collapsed in a heap next to it, desperately trying to break a leg off of it. But she was too weak - it was pointless. Elena pushed the chair towards the stairs, and, using her good leg, kicked it.

It tumbled down the concrete stairs, breaking as it fell down. At the bottom, it landed in pieces - creating a bunch of stakes.

"Damon!" Elena cried, needing him to know she'd supplied him with weapons.

"RUN! ELENA RUN! Don't you dare come back down here! Run as fast as you can!"

She waited for a minute, not wanting to run until she was sure he'd gotten one of the stakes. But Damon's figure never appeared at the bottom of the stairs. Oh god - he must've been trapped underneath Klaus, unable to get to one.

She needed to help.

Elena stumbled down the stairs, tripping at the bottom and landing in a heap next to the stakes. She was shaking with fear, but she had to get one of these things to Damon.

She picked up the largest one and threw it into the cell. Sure enough, Klaus had Damon pinned to the ground. Damon's head turned at the sound of the stake landing on the floor beside him, and he grabbed it, managing to get his left arm free.

Elena watched in terror as he threw Klaus off of him. She turned away, covering her eyes. She couldn't watch this. A few snarls of rage, sounds of snapping bones, and hisses echoed around the room before one final roar came and then there was silence.

She slowly uncovered her eyes.

Damon was breathing heavily, crouching next to...

Klaus's body.

"Y-you did it..." She said shakily. Damon shook his head.

"Klaus is an original. This won't kill him. We have about 25 minutes before he wakes up, which is why we need to get the hell out of here. What were you thinking, Elena? I told you to RUN!"

"I-I'm sorry..." Elena cried. Damon took in the sight of her. She was lying on her side, her hand pressed into her stomach. Most of her body was covered in dried blood and fresh cuts, and his chest tightened painfully at the sight.

"We need to go. NOW. I'm going to run as fast as I can, do you understand me?" He asked. She nodded quickly.

"Good." Damon flashed over to her and scooped her up in his arms, and she curled into him helplessly. "Close your eyes. Now." He instructed, and she shut her lids, hiding her face in his chest.

He used his vampire speed to whip them out of the manor and outside. Harsh wind blew against Damon and he threw his jacket off, tucking it around Elena's shoulders.

Damon didn't think he'd ever run so fast in his entire life. Here he was, carrying a little human girl - bridal style - in his arms as he ran away from a man he'd always hated deep down. A man that had just tried to kill Elena.

The next 40 minutes was spent running. Damon wanted more than anything to stop and set Elena down in the grass, then feed her his blood to heal her.

But Klaus would be awake and murderous right now, and he couldn't risk 10 seconds' worth of time wasted. Before leaving, he'd had Brenda - his witch - put a spell on the grounds around his house to protect Klaus from getting in.

The spell would only last a week, but he figured that would be enough time to get Klaus to calm down and stop hunting them. Or not. He knew Klaus wanted them both dead now.

By the time they reached the manor, Elena was half-asleep in his arms. He kicked the door open and stepped inside, refusing to put her down.

Elena blinked her blurry eyes into focus. "Where are we going?" She mumbled sleepily. Why wasn't Damon taking her to the slave quarters?

Damon didn't answer, and Elena felt herself slip back into the haze she'd been in before. She felt as though she were underwater. Everything was blurry and silent.

The feeling of hot water on her cold skin broke her out of her trance, and her eyes shot open. She was lying in a bathtub that was filled to the brim with hot water, still only dressed in her lingerie. Klaus had ripped her dress to shreds back at his own manor.

She gasped as she realized that Damon was kneeling next to the tub, his eyes wide with...concern?

"Elena?" He asked.

Thank god she still had the lingerie on, and thank god the bubbles completely covered her almost-naked body. She shot him a weak smile.

"You saved me..."

"Not quite yet." Damon whispered. She watched in confusion as he brought his wrist to his mouth and bit in. Oh. He held his wrist out to her. If she took some of his blood...all her wounds would heal. But she would also be in danger of becoming a vampire for the next 24 hours.

Damon sensed her reluctance. "Elena. Two of your ribs were broken, as were your right leg and arm. Your left shoulder was dislocated and your skull was fractured. Almost all of your fingers were broken and so were several of your toes. Your left ankle was also fractured, and you had a large wound in your stomach."

Elena bit her lip. She leaned forwards, taking Damon's wrist carefully and biting down. He sighed. "I don't know what Klaus did to you, but you were seriously injured."

She drank for a moment, and then pulled away. "He pushed me down the stairs." She whispered.

"The stone ones?"

"Yes." She nodded.

Damon's eyes widened in anger. "But you could have had your neck broken!"

"I know."

He took deep breaths to calm himself, then met her eyes again. Elena slowly felt the pain in her body disappear. The blood washed off in the water, and she winced as she felt her shoulder pop into place again. There were strange sensations in her chest, arm, leg, and ankle - meaning all the broken bones there were probably mending. It was the same with her fingers and toes, and she could feel the cut on her stomach closing up.

"Thank you." She whispered.

He stared into her eyes. "Elena, I was so...so...I was..." He took a deep breath. "I was so worried about you."

Elena was shocked. "Y-you were?"

He nodded, and she shot him a weak smile. Underneath the bubbles, Elena carefully slipped her ruined lingerie off, handing them to him. He wrung them out and chucked them into the garbage, knowing she wouldn't ever want to wear them again.

After soaking in the water for almost half an hour - with Damon watching her - Elena opened her eyes once more.

"Damon? Can I...?"

"Of course." He gestured to a towel on the counter and turned away at once. She stood up and quickly grabbed the towel, wrapping it around herself tightly. Damon looked back at her.

"Here. Dry yourself up and put this on." He handed her a robe, and left the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

Elena toweled herself off and slipped the lavendar robe on. It smelled like lavendar too, a scent that she'd always loved. Although wearing nothing under the robe worried her - and it only came up to her mid thighs - Elena decided to let it go. She'd almost died tonight, and she was safe now. Nothing else mattered.

Damon re-entered the bathroom, scooping her up in his arms and carrying her out. She realized that it was his bedroom they were in. He carried her over to his bed and set her down, tucking the covers around her. He climbed into the bed next to her, and Elena was grateful he did. She didn't want to sleep alone - not tonight.

"Thank you." She whispered, one last time. He smiled.

"You're welcome."

And then, without another thought, Elena drifted off into dreams.

Review if you want to see the next chapter!

Thanks to these people for reviewing the last one:

Ray, Guest, arob23, LCCullen, drewwnesss, Skating-on-glass, meskin10, arianaamanda, TalentStar, throughmysoul42, His Gem, forbiddenluv, Alice, vamomoftwins, southernbellewv, willowlux, TVDstories, Guest, Guest, Katester514, AppleJenkins, Tropic Cola, Katy-Kat09, CoolAngel90, BW4eva, Bridget-Malkowski, Guest, ipod123123123123, pinkjocey, Guest, bellax0xchristina, 4evrMrsAcklesSomerhalderWesl ey, Cherriesandapples, OceanEye1235, swagatamalfoy, Foreverfirstloves, salvatoredarlingx, e1311, Guest, Delenaluver, SWEdelena, Jazzmie01, StarfishOnTheBeach, LiveBreatheVampires, noura ashraf, Ahm, theonlyisabla, Anastasia Dobrev, Guest, MissWhatEver07, Mackenzie, amazing as alway, Guest, dothk, DEandMEthreeway, Julia, Kaliksi, Tori, Guest, Love ur Story, stepherson07, SnowWhite1864, MuzekWriter, delenaintheimpala, nana, , lilsis321, VintageBeautyx, TVDdelenaSalvatore, delenawolves, SalvatoreQueen, Giulia, guest, isabela, i hate waiting, Cate, kaybaby1127, update, Bon, EmmaSalvatoreSomerhalder, Kayla, Jamie, Eddie, Sara, Ally, and boohoo my week.

Best Review Award goes to: VintageBeautyx for a very special and long review that left me quite happy...wonder who will get the best review award next time ;) lol i love you all though so much ;)

So, thoughts on 4x15?

~DelenaRain