Back to Damon's point of view for this chapter. The point of views will change back and forth from here on out, and I'll be sure to let you all know when it does. Thank you for all the feedback! I really enjoy hearing opinions, and getting ideas from other people so let me know what you think! (:
That afternoon passed slowly. Nothing was happening and it was making Elena grow anxious. She paced incessantly through most of the evening despite Damon telling her several times she could relax. Even if Elijah could travel in the day time, he couldn't get in. She was safe. None of it made a difference to her though. Damon sat on the couch and watched her pace for a while, when he grew bored of her growing angst he picked up The Call of the Wild, which Elena had set down when she started to fret.
He began to skim over the words he pretty much knew by heart now. At about 7 Damon gave up reading and decided to make Elena dinner. He made her soup and some garlic bread. He didn't want to shock her system when she had been without food for so long. It took some convincing but Elena finally sat down to eat, and ate every bite. To Damon's surprised delight she helped him do the dishes again.
They didn't have much conversation but the atmosphere between them was comfortable, almost routine even. Stefan spent the majority of his day away from them, insisting he was busy with "things" when Elena would ask nervously about his lack of presence. Damon was sure that only added to her nerves. If he was being honest it was his fault. He had had a bout of jealousy when he came outside and saw Elena confiding in Stefan. When Stefan had come inside he had made it a point to tell him that he cared for Elena and the last thing he needed was Stefan to be in the middle of it.
"She doesn't need the drama that it will most certainly be Stef." Damon had said to him menacingly. Stefan had held his hands up in surrender. Promising he had no intentions of causing drama and that he will stay away from now on.
Damon felt bad now but at the time he was blinded by his protectiveness over Elena. Stefan was the easier one to get to know, to care for out of the two. Damon knew this, he had made it that way. Bonnie had had to fight her way into his heart and he knew he hadn't made it easy on her. Stefan on the other hand was an open book. He still seemed very you, he was relatable, understanding. Plenty of people preferred Stefan to Damon and while Damon would never say it or act like it he was terrified Elena would start to care for Stefan and that she never would care for him.
"Damon?" Elena had wandered over to the spot on the couch where Damon was sitting. He had grabbed a glass and poured himself a drink after Elena and him had finished the dishes. Then he found his way back over to the couch where he now sat watching the fire. He looked up at her and noticed she was nibbling on her lip nervously. "will you read to me?" she asked. Damon merely smiled.
He grabbed the book and sat more comfortably on the couch. He patted the seat next to him and she sat stiffly. He rolled his eyes but opened the book to a random page anyway and began to read. "And so it went," He read. "the inexorable elimination of the superfluous."
Elena listened intently and Damon read mostly from memory. Soon Damon felt Elena scoot closer to him and he held the book more towards her so she could see. After a few more pages her head rested gently on his strong shoulder. He smiled but otherwise remained completely still, scared he might frighten her off.
He read her three chapters and when her head grew heavy on his shoulder he looked over at her. She was sound asleep. Damon smiled, happy to see her relaxed finally. He peered out of the window in his view and saw that the sun was dipping low in the sky. It was almost completely out of view now.
This was the time of day that made him nervous. Damon knew Elijah couldn't be far out now. He would show up soon, and even though they were well prepared he was still scared he wouldn't be able to keep his word. Stefan had told him that Elijah's family was old. Like thousands of years old which made Elijah much faster and much stronger than them. Not to mention the ropes Elena and him had been tied up with were spelled by a witch to hold them, so Elijah also had a witch willing to work with him. He could still get to her theoretically.
Damon sighed quietly and looked back at the sleeping girl on his shoulder. It was hard to care for someone so fragile. At least with Bonnie and Stefan he knew they at least stood a chance against an enemy. Elena wasn't even healthy by human standards. Damon was scared for her.
"Damon." Stefan called coming down the stairs. Damon shushed him with a stern glance over his shoulder. Stefan looked over Damon to see why and then mouthed "sorry" when he saw Elena's sleeping form.
"You better get some rest while you can." Stefan whispered. It wasn't that late but Stefan knew as well as Damon, Elijah could show up at any time. Better they be prepared.
"I know." Damon whispered in reply, going back to staring out the window. Stefan watched his brother expectantly but he didn't say anything else. Instead Damon maneuvered out from under Elena and picked her up gently bridal style. She shifted restlessly and laid her head back on Damon's shoulder. He silently carried her to her room, and tucked her into her bed. After removing her shoes and easing the hair tie out of her hair he made a silent retreat back downstairs, where he found his brother pouring two drinks.
Stefan handed one to Damon and then leaned on the arm of the couch, nursing his own drink. "When is Caroline supposed to be here?" Damon wondered. Stefan put his drink down and folded his hands in front of his lap. "Any time now. I should tell you, Klaus is coming." Damon's eyes about popped out of his head. "Elijah's brother Klaus? He's coming here?" Damon asked exasperated. "I know Damon, thats what ive been doing all this time. I've been on the phone with Caroline on and off trying to understand why she thought bringing him would be a good idea." Stefan said defensively
"And?" Damon waited, his anger level rising.
"She made a good point. We need someone who knows Elijah. Rebecca refused to come back, she was too afraid. Caroline said Klaus is a really great guy, and feels awful about what his brothers have done. He says we are gonna need knowledge to stop Elijah and he wants to help. For what it's worth I think we should let him."
"Okay and what about Elena huh? Do you think she is gonna be okay with this at all? Staying with the brother of the men who have kept her captive for god knows how long? She can hardly relax around us." Damon couldn't find the right words to express his feelings. He was angry at Caroline for just making a decision, he was angry at Stefan for not asking him about it beforehand, he was worried for Elena and for everyone else he cared about. How could they trust Klaus? He was after all Elijah's brother.
"Damon, we don't really have a choice, he's faster and stronger than us. He knows more than we do. We don't have much of an advantage, even together. We will watch him, but Caroline swears he's trustworthy."
"Yeah well that makes me feel so much better that Elijah's brother has Barbie's golden star approval." Damon quipped. None of this made him feel better, for Elena or himself. Stefan just looked at his brother with calm eyes and it made Damon want to punch him. Sometimes Stefan didn't think. He after all was still young and Damon thought that perhaps he didn't always think everything through. Damon glared and tried to rack his brain for a solution. There was none though, he couldn't stop what was already in motion. He would just have to be extra careful. "You're responsible for him Stef. If anything goes wrong, if anyone ends up hurt, it's on you." Damon said, feeling that sort of calm angry that would scare anyone who was smart enough to pick up on it. Stefan nodded, he understood the position they were all in now, but he really felt like it was their best shot. Damon set his glass down harshly and turned back to the stairs. "I want someone with him, at all times Stefan, and you better not leave Elena unattended." And with that he disappeared into his room.
At the sight of his huge victorian style bed, all anger left him for two seconds. Damon hadn't slept a wink in two days and the call of sleep was suddenly all he could hear. He groaned to himself and rubbed his hands down his face. He knew Stefan was right, that they really didn't have an advantage on Elijah, even if they wanted to play it that way. Each hour that passed that Elijah didn't show up only kept them more in the dark. Damon was sure he would follow them straight here, he was sure he would try to crash into their house with all of his grieving rage and throw all of his power at them, but two full days and nights had passed since Elena had killed Kol and still there was no sign of him.
Truth was they weren't prepared at all for a calculated attack, and everyone, himself included, was in danger. Damon trudged into his bathroom and stipped off his dirty clothes. He stood in the shower for a long time, just letting the hot water run over him. He could still feel the ghost of the pain from all of the torture in each one of his muscles. That's the hard part about being a vampire. The blood will heal the physical wound but you will always remember, in vivid detail, how it hurt, what hurt, what it felt like. Damon's body still trembled at the thought of it.
When he finally pulled himself out of the shower he threw on a pair of sweats. He left his chest bare as he peaked out of his door and looked down the hall. Elena's door was four down from his and in the dark hallway he could still make out Stefan's form, sitting by her door. He was reading a book. "Goodnight Damon." He said it quietly, like he was speaking to someone sitting next to him, but Damon heard him all the same. "Goodnight brother." He said in the same low tone. He shut his door quietly behind him. Damon looked back towards his bed and didn't want to fight in any longer. He lost himself under the sheets and fell quickly into a deep and dreamless sleep.
"Damon." Damon stirred a little, trying to ignore whatever dream his mind had conjured up. He was too tired for dreams. Something nudged his bare shoulder. "Damon." His eyes shot open and he looked around frantically. Elena was standing there in his t-shirt and sweats. Her hair was all tangled on one side and her eyes were wide with fear. "Sorry." She winced. Damon relaxed immediately. "Elena." He rubbed his tired, burning eyes and looked at her more calmly. "What's wrong?" He asked, voice still thick with sleep.
"I heard noises downstairs and when I went to ask Stefan about it he wasn't by my door. I got worried." She looked around nervously, and looked super embarrassed. Damon furrowed his brow and strained his ears to hear the commotion down stairs. He could hear Caroline's familiar laugh and Stefan speaking in a quiet voice. He could hear a heartbeat too which meant Bonnie was also down there. Then he heard an unfamiliar voice with a familiar english accent. That had to be Klaus. Damon sighed and looked back at Elena, who's cheeks were growing redder by the second. "It's Caroline and Bonnie. Caroline just got in." Damon explained. Relief washed through Elena and her body visibly sagged. She looked nervously back to the door. "Oh, okay then. Sorry I woke you." She turned slowly and began to walk to the door.
"Elena." Damon called. She looked back like a dog who had just gotten in trouble. "Come here." He said calmly. She walked quickly to his bedside and watched him and waited.
"Do you want to sleep in here?" He offered. She furrowed her brow as her cheeks grew bright red again. "You can have the bed, I'll sleep on the floor." He amended. "I just thought with new people in the house you'd be more comfortable being in a room with me, ya know like it used to be." He smirked at her and he was rewarded with a small smile and an eye roll.
"I don't want you to sleep on the floor Damon, you've hardly slept at all in the last couple days." He waved her off and began to climb out of the bed. She put her hands on his shoulders though and stopped him. "No." She raised her eyes to meet his and they melted together. His marvelous blue, and her delicious brown. They stood, trapped in each others stares for a second. Damon had to fight back the urge to close the small distance between them. He wanted to kiss her so badly it hurt. Then Elena cleared her throat.
"I'm serious, stay on the bed." She sounded so stern that Damon immediately laid back down. She then gracefully walked around the bed and laid down next to him on the other side. Damon watched her, his face a huge question mark. "But I also don't want to sleep alone with new people in the house." She mumbled, asking with her eyes if this were okay. Damon couldn't help the lazy grin that spread across his face. If only she knew how okay it was with him.
"Okay." was his simple reply. He laid on his side facing Elena and she faced him. His eyes slid closed again almost immediately. They snapped back open when he felt Elena wrap her tiny hand around his though. Her eyes were closed, and a smile touched her pouty lips. Damon smiled to himself and turned his hand to close his fingers around hers. "Goodnight Lena." He murmured. Her breathing quickened for a few seconds and then she murmured back "Goodnight Damon." Then Damon was asleep again.
