A/N- Wow. I can't believe I'm nearly on 300 reviews! That's amazing you guys.

So one thing that I see every now and then and I really like is when author's talk about the songs they listen to when writing so I thought I'd do the same for this chapter. This is possibly one of the most beautiful songs I've heard in a long time and definitely one of my faves at the moment so please give it a listen, I've been playing it none stop whilst writing this.

Pictures- Benjamin Francis Leftwich

Also please listen to anything by James Vincent McMorrow, I am going to see him live tomorrow night with my boyfriend and am ridiculously excited, his voice is sublime.

Also thanks again to ellisaco for reading this through :) Enjoy and plese continue to review x

Elena began to feel slightly uncomfortable as they reached the busy foyer of the hospital and Damon's arm was still wrapped around her shoulders. She glanced around the reception area, full of doctors about to start their shifts. She made a show of pulling her phone out of her pocket and lightly shrugged his arm off her as she pretended to type out a text to Bonnie.

"I just need to go check my pigeon hole." she told him and headed over to the large column of holes set into a wall on the other side of the foyer.

He watched her walk away and tensed his hand, she had shrugged him off and he hadn't failed to notice the way in which she'd tensed up underneath his grasp as they'd entered the foyer and the nervous way in which she had scuttled over to the pigeon holes. Right now she was making a big show of shuffling through the small stack of letters that she had pulled out, most of the stuff they got was useless junk from pharmaceutical companies so he knew that none of it could be so interesting that she needed to scour it so vehemently. She was probably hoping that he'd tire of waiting and head outside. He knew her well enough bynow to know that pretty much everything she did sheassumed was being judged by every single person surrounding her.

He folded his arms and waited for her patiently, tapping his foot lightly and smiling slightly at members of staff who greeted him on their way into work.

"Well aren't you just about the cutest, most desperate thing I've ever seen?" He suppressed a shudder as he turned around to face the last person on the planet that he wanted to see in that moment - or any moment for that matter.

"Katherine." he spat out, looking her up and down and congratulating himself on the empty feeling inside that overcame him when he observed her in her marginally too tight skirt and low cut blouse.

"Waiting for your girlfriend?" She stuck her bottom lip out and pouted at him sarcastically.

He bit back a retort, swallowing it down like bile and feeling it burn away at his insides. He glanced across at Elena who was dramatically reading a letter, the piece of paper raised to her face as she frowned doing her best I'm-intently-reading-and-haven't-noticed-you-talking-to-your-ex expression.

"I miss you looking at me like that." cooed Katherine from behind him, watching him intently.

"I never looked at you like that," he snapped at her, "you were just a pair of legs and tits to me." She looked hurt for a split second and he spied a window of opportunity and continued. "Which, by the way, are starting to sag a little in your old age. Might want to stop wearing the low cut tops or I won't be the only one branded as desperate around here." He was surprised to see her smirk gleefully and glance down her top at the area he had drawn attention to.

"Oh please," she snorted, "these have at least another ten years in them." She threw him a devilish smile. "Your Daddy's money made sure of that."

His mouth dropped open as she winked at him and his eyes dropped to her chest. He felt like he was going to vomit as he stared at her, open mouthed. "Excuse me?" he finally choked out, praying to God that he had misinterpreted what she had just told him.

"You heard me," His heart began racing and he could feel it pounding in his ears. "your money paid for the best surgeon around, you know I don't do anything on the cheap, Damon."

"You used the money I gave you to get a...a..." he could not form the words as years of built up walls came crashing down. There had been no child, no pregnancy, no abortion. He knew he should feel relieved that he had not played a part in the murder of an innocent child but his mind had gone numb. He hadn't looked at her for more than a few seconds since he had learned they were working in the same hospital, sure he had heard the other male doctors discussing her figure but he had never really paid much attention before but now it all came screaming back to him. The low cut blouses and the lewd comments about her rack he heard in the locker room, she was always drawing attention to it and he had still believed the best in her. Up until that moment he had believed that she had really been pregnant and had accepted that at her young age she was scared, she had her whole future ahead of her and who was he to force her to have his child?

He forced down the feelings of nausea that had caused his knees to start feeling like jelly, if he didn't get some fresh air soon he was going to pass out, he was sure of it. You are so pathetic Salvatore; you cannot let this woman have this effect on you.

She was still watching him, a small smile pulling at the corners of her lips but her eyes suddenly slipped past his and focussed on someone behind him. "Hello Elena." she said brightly, plastering a fake smile across her face.

"Dr Pierce." answered Elena tersely, stopping at Damon's shoulder and glancing across him, frowning momentarily at his pale appearance. "Everything OK?" she asked him quietly, her attention completely diverted from Katherine and her voice full of concern. He felt himself smile slightly; in the short time that they had been friends he had to admit she was probably the most loyal friend he'd ever had, although he didn't really have a long list to choose from.

"Yeah, fine." He offered her a small smile and he saw her composure relax slightly at his reassurance. The moment between them was broken as a fourth person joined their group.

"Dr Pierce!" Matt had appeared next to the brunette doctor, grinning eagerly at her before his eyes swept over Elena and Damon. It had been weeks since he had spoken to Elena, still hurting from her rejection of him. She had truly believed it would have blown over so much quicker and they would have been friends again by now, but despite her persistent efforts to make conversation with him he continued to pretend like she did not exist.

"Oh, hello Matt." Katherine greeted him warmly, placing a hand on his broad shoulders and causing Elena to tense up. She may not have feelings for Matt in that way but seeing someone like Katherine touch him stirred intense jealousy and anger inside of her.

He grinned boyishly at her again, standing slightly taller and pushing his chest out when she laid her hand on him. "You left this in my car." He handed her a lipstick and she smiled gratefully, taking it from his outstretched hand.

"Oh you are such a sweetheart!" she exclaimed, trailing her hand down onto his chest and letting it linger there for a second before removing it and tossing the lipstick into her bag, it clearly meant nothing to her.

She glanced between Elena and Damon, smirking at Elena's outraged expression. "This must look awfully suspect," She placed a hand on her chest and giggled girlishly, Damon and Elena both shuddered at the forced sound but Matt seemed to blush even further. "Matt here was my hero the other night, my car broke down and he offered me a lift home. It's so rare to find a true gentleman these days, am I right Elena?" She turned to Elena and offered her a sly smile and a wink, her eyes sliding across to Damon momentarily. "Well," she declared suddenly, "must be going." She tottered away from the group, her heels echoing in the large foyer.

Matt's eyes drifted from watching her walk away back to Elena and Damon.

"Matt..." Elena began, reaching an arm forward towards him.

"I'm gunna be late." he mumbled, pulling away from her and shunning her touch before hurriedly walking away in the same direction as Katherine, disappearing through the double doors that led to the wards.

She didn't watch him go, instead she stared at the spot where he had been stood, desperately trying to process what had just happened.

"So..." Damon's voice broke her out of her trance, "how do you feel about washing that breakfast down with some tequila?"

Two hours later they were both still sat at a booth in the Grill, empty shot glasses strewn between them, they hadn't even bothered with breakfast in the end, preferring the liquid variety instead. Elena grasped the full shot glass in front of her between her fingers as she pointed at Damon.

"OK, OK I've got one." she declared and gestured for him to pick up his shot, he obliged and held it in front of him, waiting for her to speak. "Age you lost your virginity." She giggled and pointed at him again, waiting for his answer.

He placed a hand on his chest and opened his mouth in mock shock, a dramatic gasp falling from his lips, "Elena, I am appalled, I happen to still be a virgin." She snorted loudly and then giggled at the noise she had made.

"Yeah, OK, and I'm actually wonder woman."

"OK fine," he laughed before pausing, "Wait, who wins here? The oldest or the youngest?" he asked, his words slurring as he clutched the shot, careful not to spill any of it.

"Oldest." she shrugged, then her eyes widened as something occurred to her. "Unless you were obscenely young and then that loses." He let out a short laugh and nodded. "You go first." she urged and eyed him nervously.

"Fifteen." Her mouth dropped open in shock. "What?" he asked, chuckling. "That's not that young! Come on, your turn."

"Twenty." she admitted nervously and blushed as he raised an eyebrow. "I was a late bloomer, OK?" He raised his hands defensively.

"I never said a word." He gestured towards her shot. "Drink up." She obligingly knocked back the shot, grimacing and shaking her hands, sticking her tongue out in disgust as he pushed their shared glass of chaser towards her. "OK my turn." He yanked the bottle of tequila that had been at the edge of the table and frowned as he drained the last of its contents into their two glasses. "Most embarrassing college memory. Go." He pointed at her and she shrugged.

"I don't really have any." she declared, shrugging her shoulders again and frowning as he smirked across at her. "What?"

"None whatsoever?" he pressed, stifling a laugh.

"No! Why are you laughing?" she demanded and he shook his head.

"Oh nothing. So you've never say...thrown up on a guy before?" Her mouth dropped open and she gasped loudly.

"Who told you that!" she screamed at him as he broke out into laughter, clutching his sides. "Damon!" she shouted, drawing the attention of the few other customers in the Grill.

"Your roommate loves to reminisce about the good old days, that's all." He ducked as she launched a rolled up napkin at his head, still laughing loudly.

"I cannot believe Bonnie." she muttered darkly, throwing herself back into her chair and folding her arms moodily.

"Oh come on grouchy, I bet I can top it." She raised an eyebrow at him challengingly and she thought she would die of satisfaction when a slight blush rose on his cheeks. Damon Salvatore blushed, oh this was gunna be good.

"Go on." she urged and he gulped nervously.

"One word." he began after a momentary hesitation, "Threesome."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "How is that an embarrassing story? It just proves you were an asshole even back then."

He shook his head, ignoring the jibe. "Not the cool kind." he added and watched with horror as realisation dawned across her face.

"Ewwwww." she squealed and he shushed her hurriedly.

"I didn't go through with it." he whispered frantically as she struggled to contain her giggles.

"Oh...my...God" she felt like she couldn't breathe she was laughing so hard, "You have to..." giggle "tell me..." giggle "everything." Hiccup.

He groaned, why was he doing this to himself? He was absolutely wasted and it wasn't even midday and what was worse was that he was getting wasted with his intern, who he was ridiculously attracted to and revealing every awful story about himself to her. Do you not like sex? He asked himself furiously, because it is definitely not happening with her after today.

She was still waiting for the story and he groaned, wishing he'd told her another story; there were plenty to choose from. "So I was hooking up with this girl for a while..."

"Ass." she muttered and he narrowed his eyes.

"I was in college, OK? I took what I got...which was a lot." She groaned and he chuckled slightly. "Anyway, one day she asks me if I want a threesome and well...I'm a guy so it was pretty much like all my best Christmas presents rolled into one." She rolled her eyes painfully. "So she turns up one night, with this guy and I was a bit confused and things didn't really click until he goes to the bathroom and comes back butt naked!" She burst out laughing and he threw her a look as she clapped her hands over her mouth as tears started spilling out of her eyes.

"What did you do?" she managed to squeak out in between laughs and hiccups.

"I bailed, Elena! I wasn't gunna stick around to see whether I enjoyed it or not!" He was laughing too at this point and he didn't care for a second that the bartender looked like he might chuck them out at any point and the old man in the corner kept throwing them reproachable stares, this was the most fun he had had for as long as he could remember.

They carried on swapping college stories for a while, him being amazed at some of the crazy things Elena had got up to. His Elena- the sensible, controlled and restrained Elena. His Elena, he reprimanded himself, she is not yours, idiot. He watched her intently as she jabbered enthusiastically about some frat party or other she'd been particularly drunk at, all he could do was stare and drink her in. God, he would give anything for her to be his.

Three hours after they had entered the Grill he regretfully looked at his watch and decided that it was probably time to leave. The bartender had cut them off a good half hour ago and he knew that in a few hours a hangover would start to set in, thank God neither of them had to work the next day. He pushed himself to his feet, feeling his head swim as he steadied himself on the table.

"Come on, boozy. Let's get you home." If he was drunk then Elena was worse, she groaned as she shook her head, which was resting on top of her arms where she'd slumped against the table. They really were fine ambassadors for the medical profession. She pushed herself backwards, her hair falling across her face and stumbled to her feet. He lunged forwards to steady her as she staggered slightly, gripping the table for support.

He grabbed her arm and flung it around his shoulders and clutched her small waist with his other hand and shuffled her out of the bar. She groaned and let her head flop against his shoulder as they reached the fresh air; he breathed it in readily before hitching her up and beginning the walk towards her house. The irony of the situation wasn't lost on him as he recognised familiar sights on their walk to her house from the last time he had walked this way, when their situation had been reversed. She groaned softly next to him and he stopped dragging her alongside him.

"What are you-" She squealed lightly as he placed his arm underneath her knees and swept her upwards into his arms, her arms tightening around his neck. "Now why didn't I think of this last time?" she joked and he laughed lightly at the idea of her trying to pick him up.

"Christ, Elena," he groaned and jerked her upwards lightly into his arms more comfortably, "you really should start hitting the gym again." Her outraged look and open mouth sent a shockwave of guilt through him. Don't joke about a woman's weight, noted.

"Maybe you're just not as strong as you think you are." she quipped and smirked at him.

"Whatever," He began walking again. "you're light as a feather." He could feel her grinning against his chest as she settled her head against him, nervous that she would feel his heart hammering through his ribcage.

They reached her house quickly, the cold air spurring him on to walk faster and she awkwardly fidgeted in his arms to try and retrieve her keys. She looked up at him and glanced down at the ground.

"Could you..." She tried to extricate herself from him but he had her in an iron grip.

"What, you don't want me to carry you over the threshold?" he asked, jutting out his bottom lip in mock offense.

"I think I'm fine thanks." she said sarcastically. He lowered her to her feet and immediately lunged forwards to steady her from behind as she swayed dangerously, trying to slot her key into the lock. He kept his hands on her hips until she finally managed to open the door and barrelled through it, tripping over her own feet and dragging him with her until they both ended up in a pile on the floor.

They both burst into a fit of giggles and he awkwardly rolled off her and lay on the floor next to her for a second. He glanced across at her, her hands wrapped around her stomach as she continued laughing, her hair splayed out on the floor around her head. He couldn't help but smile at the sight of her as she turned her head to face him, their noses centimetres apart.

"What?" she asked quietly and propped herself up onto her elbows to look down at him.

He shook his head, his dark hair falling across his eyes. "Nothing." he replied and hauled himself to his feet, offering her a hand to pull her up.

He followed her into her kitchen and watched silently as she poured herself a glass of water and gulped it down. She ran a hand through her hair and then brushed past him and headed towards her stairs. Without a look behind her she started climbing them and didn't comment when he quietly followed her, telling himself that he just wanted to make sure she was OK before leaving.

She entered her room and plonked herself down on the edge of her bed unceremoniously. He glanced around her room, smirking as always at the mix of photos, medical texts and old teddies from her childhood. As usual whenever he was granted access to her room he perused her photos carefully.

"What's this one from?" he asked, triggering the start of one of his favourite games. Hearing her talk about old memories and tell him stories about her past had become something of an addiction to him; it aided the illusion that they'd been friends for a lot longer than they truly had.

He studied the picture carefully, in typical Damon style the one he had picked depicted her in a bikini, perched on the top of a large guy's shoulders, her arms raised above her head victoriously as she clutched some kind of trophy.

"Spring break, freshman year." she answered as she glanced across at the photo, she had looked at them all so many times that she didn't need to look in any real detail to know the exact story behind it. "We won the wrestling competition." she told him, smiling at the memory of the holiday spent at the beach and drinking dangerous amounts of alcohol.

"Who's the guy?" he asked, eyeing the shirtless male carefully, immediately judging himself against the anonymous figure.

"Just a friend from college." she answered dismissively, unaware of the clawing feeling of jealousy that dragged at his insides at the sight of her with any member of the male species, let alone one who had her legs wrapped round his neck. He tore his eyes away from the photo and glanced across at her.

She flung herself back onto her pillows, throwing an arm across her eyes.

"I am so wasted." she moaned and he snickered. He moved across to her and dragged the covers out from underneath her and threw them back over her. He pressed the edges into the side of her body gently and she smiled and chuckled lightly.

"Are you tucking me in?" she whispered, her voice full of sleep.

"Sshhh." he urged as he finished his ministrations and looked down at her. Her eyes had fallen closed and from the even sound of her breathing he presumed she was already asleep. He brushed a piece of hair out of her face and let his fingers drift slowly across her cheeks, relishing in the softness of her skin.

She mumbled something in her sleep and he eased himself backwards, ready to leave the room. Suddenly her small hand shot from underneath the sheets and latched onto his wrist. Hers eyes were still closed and he tried to pull away but she mumbled again.

"Stay with me." Never one to let a lady down he nodded slowly and gulped, forcing himself to breathe slowly. He kicked off his shoes, her hand still holding onto him and pulled back the covers lightly. She shifted over, making room for him, but not enough so that they weren't touching.

In making room for him to slide in next to her she had rolled onto her side, facing away from him and he presumed, as he lay immobile on his back, that she would sleep like that. However, it seemed she had other ideas as she suddenly rolled herself back over and scooted her head underneath his arm, which he lifted willingly, until she was situated on his chest. He held his arm in the air awkwardly before lightly draping it across her back in the most casual manner he could muster.

She stirred slightly, pressing herself into him further and he couldn't stop himself from leaning down and placing a gentle kiss on the top of her head. She sighed softly, her warm breath caressing his chest through his thin shirt. Her right hand, which she had left to rest just below his shoulder, clasped onto his shirt suddenly, her fingers knotting in the fabric. She slowly raised her head to look up at him fully, her tired eyes opening to stare him the eye. He felt his heart jump as his eyes met hers;he bit down on the inside of his bottom lip. She was so beautiful it was a struggle to resist any physical reaction to her.

Seconds, minutes, days and hours seemed to pass as they stared at each other, Elena's hand still tangled up in the fabric of his shirt. He rubbed her back soothingly and she ran her tongue over her lips, parting them slightly. His eyes dropped to watch the action and something in him broke, the cord of restraint that had been strung tightly between his head and heart snapped in two, leaving the two to battle it out between them. His heart won as he lowered his head and chastely pressed his lips to hers, letting his eyes fall closed.

Her eyes remained open, yet she didn't pull away, she remained still until the sound of their lips parting seemed to echo around her silent room. She watched him breathe out slowly, his eyes fluttering open again to look down at her.

"Sorry..." he whispered breathlessly.

She shook her head lightly and he opened his mouth to tell her that he didn't need to hear her rejection again; it was a script that he'd already memorised in his head. However his words caught in his mouth as she slid her hand up his chest and around the back of his neck and pulled him back to her.

If he died tomorrow, he thought, as her velvety lips ran along his, dreamily moulding to each other, he would be a happy man. He rolled himself onto his side, his lips never once leaving hers as he wrapped her in his arms and pulled her tightly against him. She whimpered lightly and it was enough to make him pull back hesitantly.

Having her in his arms finally made him want to never stop kissing her, but the thought of not having her in his arms if he pushed her too far did make him stop. He searched her eyes for signs of regret or misgivings but was met instead with her quiet longing and the unspoken feelings between them.

I can't control myself around you.

Her words came screaming back to him and he felt the band of logic start to stitch together and bridge the gap between his head and heart. If she couldn't control herself, he would have to be the voice of reason, he wasn't going to take advantage of her sudden change of heart for her to hate him later. I hate being the voice of reason, he though bitterly as he pushed himself backwards slightly as her eyes drooped closed and she leaned into him again.

"Elena..." His own voice sounded pathetic to his ears. She opened her eyes and frowned at him, "you're really drunk..." he tried to explain but she shook her head again, this time more determinately.

"I'm not that drunk." she threw back at him, her voice full of lust. She latched onto the collar of his shirt and tried to tug him towards her with surprising strength.

"Ok...but I am." he continued, dragging every ounce of restraint he had in his body to the surface to remove her hands from his shirt and hold them in his own on his chest. "And you are far too amazing for me to wake up later and not remember this." he reasoned with her.

"You're rejecting me." It wasn't a question and he tried not to balk at the change in her tone.

"No...Elena..." he pleaded with her desperately.

"No I get it." she answered, "I guess this makes us even, huh?"

"You know it's not like that." he tried to assure her, wishing, not for the first time in his life, that he could go back in time about five minutes and put this right. "I don't wanna take advantage of you." he whispered, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear gently. "You know I'm right," he continued, "I'm always right." She smirked and rolled her eyes as he chuckled quietly.

"Really?" she asked sarcastically, "you're gunna go with humour right now?"

"It's all I've got." He could see her anger fading away and knew he had to take a chance to make this right. "I'm sorry," he repeated, "I just..."

"Lost control?"

"Yeah..." he answered, trying to keep his voice light.

She shrugged, "It's alright, it's not like it hasn't happened before right?" she said light heartedly.

"Exactly." he said and scooped her back into his arms, lying himself flat on his back and holding her tightly. "Let's get some sleep." he suggested and she nodded against his chest before drifting back into sleep.

Bonnie let herself into the house later that evening, taking care tobe as quiet as possible. She crept up the stairs to her room and dumped her bag on her bed before heading for Elena's room to see if she was up yet. Friday night was their pizza night and she knew her flatmate would not want to miss out on the tradition.

"Elena?" she sang out slowly, opening her roommate's door and peering around it. She gasped when she was met with the sight of her best friend being spooned by Damon Salvatore. She saw Elena stir and she froze on the spot, however it was too late to do anything as her friend propped herself onto her elbows and frowned at Bonnie.

"Bonnie?" she croaked, her sleepy voice cracking slightly.

Elena glanced across to the sleeping form of Damon and then back to Bonnie, he had not stirred so she slowly pulled back the covers and crept out of the bed. Bonnie breathed a sigh of relief as she saw that the pair were both fully clothed. Elena placed a finger to her lips and gestured for her to leave the room as she followed her friend, pulling the door closed behind her.

Elena ran a hand through her bed hair, squinting her eyes as she grew accustomed to the light in the hallway. She pointed to Bonnie's room and the pair traipsed into the other room, the door shutting behind them.

"Sorry," she told Bonnie, "we just fell asleep after our shift." Bonnie raised an eyebrow at her friend as she settled on the opposite end of the bed to her, folding her legs underneath herself.

"Oh yeah?" asked Bonnie teasingly and Elena smirked before throwing a small cushion in her direction.

"Yes," she snapped jokingly, "well," she rocked the palm of her hand side to side, "sort of."

"Spill." Bonnie jumped in anxiously, her face lighting up. Although she had initially been sceptical of Elena's friendship with her attending she could see that he made her friend happy and in fairness to him, once you got past the superficial layers of ass hole, he wasn't so bad.

"We kind of... kissed again." admitted Elena quietly, hushing Bonnie frantically as her friend squealed in delight.

"That is so cute," gushed Bonnie, "you guys are all...forbidden love and that." Elena rolled her eyes.

"At least try to form a coherent sentence." The cushion was thrown back in her direction and she dodged it and giggled. "It's really nothing." she continued and Bonnie nodded sarcastically.

"Sure." she drew out slowly.

Elena yawned widely, throwing a hand to her mouth. Bonnie wrinkled her nose and frowned.

"Have you been drinking?" she asked her friend, leaning forward and sniffing her curiously.

"Ew, do not sniff me!" exclaimed Elena, pushing her away lightly, "I had a few drinks at the Grill with Damon." she explained as if it was normal practice.

"In the middle of the day?" questioned Bonnie.

"I had a rough night and so did he; we both needed something to take our minds off things."

"So go for a run," lectured Bonnie and suddenly her eyes sprang open enthusiastically, "or..." she smiled deviously, "have sex."

"Ew no!" exclaimed Elena.

"Why not?" protested her friend, "I bet he's a total animal in the sack." Elena buried her head in her hands and shook it fiercely, laughing between her fingertips.

"I am not sleeping with Damon to blow off steam." she replied, trying to sound as sensible as possible while her cheeks flamed.

Bonnie shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm just saying, it's bound to happen sooner or later, everyone can spot the chemistry between you two from a mile off." Elena shook her head, effectively ending the discussion. Outside she heard the floorboards creak before someone gently knocked on the door.

She sprang to her feet, her cheeks flushing heavily as she opened the door and smiled shyly at Damon who stood on the other side of it.

"Hey." he said quietly. She bit her lip as she looked at him, his hair was dishevelled and fell across his face, a thin layer of stubble had started to form on his chin and his usually immaculate shirt was creased and crumpled. He looked simply adorable and she was struck by how boyish he looked in that instant.

"Hi, sleepyhead." she answered warmly.

"Hi, Dr. Salvatore," chirped Bonnie from behind her, peering behind Elena and waving at him. He smiled embarrassingly and ran a hand through his hair.

"Hi, Bonnie," He raised a hand in her direction.

"We didn't wake you, did we?" asked Elena, taking a step back as he settled himself against the doorpost.

"No, no," he answered casually, "I shouldn't have slept much longer anyway, I'll probably take off, my car's still at the hospital." he explained.

"Oh right, well I'll walk you-"

"Do you wanna stay for pizza, Dr. Salvatore?" Bonnie cut across her and Elena winced, she could practically feel the grin on Bonnie's face.

"Erm..." he chuckled lightly and looked at Elena for an answer. She shrugged dismissively, "Sure that'd be cool," he answered, "but you gotta stop calling me Dr Salvatore." He smirked at Bonnie and she nodded enthusiastically, her face lighting up.

Bonnie glanced between the pair before hopping to her feet. "I'll go order." she explained and slipped between the pair, leaving them alone in the hallway.

Elena grinned sheepishly, "Sorry," she began, "you don't have to stay if you have plans or..." What was wrong with her? Why was she suddenly so nervous? Probably because your attending just walked in on a conversation about you sleeping with him.

He chuckled again, what was so freaking funny? "No its fine, I haven't got any plans so this is perfect." He drew the last word out and she blushed furiously.

They stood awkwardly in silence and Elena was desperately searching for something to say, her tongue dry from all the alcohol.

"She's right, you know." He broke the silence, his voice sounding mischievous all of a sudden.

"About what?" asked Elena quietly, nervously running a hand through her hair.

"I am an animal in the sack." He winked at her and she thought that all the blood in her body must have rushed to her face.

"Oh my god!" she exclaimed, burying her face into her palms in shame. "How long were you listening for!" she screeched at him.

"Long enough." He smirked and she groaned into her hands. "Elena, I'm just messing with you, come on." He tugged at her hands to release her face, "If I can't joke about this stuff with you, who can I do it with?"

"It's not a joke to everyone like it is to you." she murmured and he rolled his eyes.

"Alright, Mother Teresa, I'm sorry if I offended you by boasting about my sexual prowess." She struggled not to smirk or roll her eyes. "In the future I'll keep the conversation strictly PG, OK?" He held her hands in his own, tugging on them to make her look up at him and smiling at her while waiting for her to give in.

"Fine." she ground out, "If you want to compensate for your deficiencies in the bedroom department by being verbally vulgar, I suppose I'll have to deal with it." She bobbed her tongue at him and he pulled her towards him roughly, his hands dropping to her sides and tickling her aggressively. "Damon!" she shrieked, flailing wildly to release herself from his grip.

"Very funny, smart alec." he growled, he stopped tickling her and grabbed her around the waist before flinging her over his shoulders effortlessly and heading for the stairs. "Now let's go get some pizza, I'm starving."

Pleaseee review! It keeps me happy in my massive uni-induced stresses! xxx