A/N: Thank you guys so much for the support, I really hope you'll keep reading and reviewing, it's such a treat. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Until next time. :)
Cursed Disease
Chapter 12
"Control"
Stefan crossed the hallway in an instant, knocking furiously on the door just down the hall from Damon's bedroom.
Caroline answered in a frump. Her hair was slightly tousled, her eyes bruised from lack of sleep. The minute she saw Stefan's expression, however, she immediately righted herself. "What is it?" she asked. "What's happened?"
"Caroline?" Bonnie appeared a few seconds later, she looked no better rested than the blonde. Stefan noticed that she was holding the Trickster's grimoire against her chest.
Stefan couldn't help the sigh of relief that passed his lips. Damon hadn't gotten to Bonnie or Caroline. They were both fine. Still, Stefan didn't have time to linger on one positive when the trouble they were about to face was only about to double in size. "It's Damon," Stefan said swiftly. "He's got out."
Bonnie and Caroline both stepped forward in alarm. "What?"
After the initial panic, Stefan managed to round everyone up into the parlour. Elena stood closest to the fireplace, toying uselessly with her hands. Caroline and Bonnie sat on one of the sofas, though all three friends periodically caught each other's gazes before looking away. The tension in the room was almost palpable and Stefan didn't doubt that everyone felt the same.
Finally, Stefan cleared his throat. "We have just under an hour until sunrise, so we have to work fast."
Elena closed her eyes. "His ring's not working, if the sun comes up-"
"We'll find him," Stefan affirmed.
"Why did he leave in the first place?" Bonnie asked abruptly. "I mean, if he's… hungry surely he would have tried for the blood sources inside the house first." Bonnie's voice died in her throat, but Stefan knew what she was implying. Why hadn't Damon attacked her, the only living blood source in the house instead of heading straight for the front door?
"I'm not sure," Stefan said and, honestly, he didn't have time to think on it, "but Damon won't be thinking clearly. I know what it's like to be rabid with hunger, you put your instinct first, when you're in that state you become more animal than human." It was true, after all. Lexi had starved Stefan countless times during the decades she'd used to reform him. In those days, Stefan remembered times where he was completely unrecognisable; he would have done anything for blood. Stefan supressed a shudder. "Damon will stick to the wooded areas, it's instinctive, but that won't last long. If Damon doesn't find a human blood source there, he'll move onto the town."
"What's going to happen if he finds someone?" Caroline asked softly.
Stefan looked at her sympathetically. His eyes relayed the answer loud and clear. Caroline deflated, her gaze moving towards the floor. "Oh."
Stefan sighed. "Caroline, I need you out there with me, you're more experienced at tracking and we're going to need that to find Damon." This was the part Stefan knew he'd regret. "Elena, I'll need you to stay here with Bonnie."
Elena opened her mouth to retaliate, but Stefan spoke over her: "You're new at this, you don't know how to track a vampire yet, besides I need someone here to protect Bonnie if Damon comes back." Stefan looked at the two of them grimly. "Are you okay with that?"
Elena didn't look happy with the decision, but nodded all the same. She knew what they all knew; they didn't have time to argue over the subject. "Of course." She moved over to the sofa, pressing her hand against Bonnie's shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze. She looked to Stefan and then Caroline respectively, though her gaze relayed a silent warning. "Call me as soon as you find him."
"We will," Stefan said. He nodded to Caroline who quickly shot up from the sofa.
As the two moved towards the front door, Caroline turned to her friends with a hard look. "It's alright," she said, "we'll find him."
Oh God, Caroline hated this.
The minute she and Stefan left the house, they'd agreed to split up. That way, they'd cover more ground and they really, really needed to cover ground.
Caroline knew what was at stake here. They only had an hour until sunrise and Damon's ring wasn't working. If he got caught in the sun… no! Caroline forced that particular thought away; instead she focused her mind on tracking Damon, searching for any sound that might lead her to her target.
Stefan had explained that Damon would stick to the woods, but they both knew it would only take the older vampire so long before he discovered that the town would be his best bet for fresh blood. The only thing Caroline could hope for was that most people were in their homes, safely tucked in bed and not wandering around without the whole anti-vampire invite ward thingy to protect them. Of course, Caroline had no idea how many houses Damon had been invited into since he'd moved back to Mystic Falls, but she figured it had to be a lot.
Oh God, this was bad.
Caroline stopped again, finding that she wasn't entirely sure where she was. She'd been relying purely on instinct, following the sounds of nature, the odd creak of a tree caught in the wind, a twig that might have been broken by some form of wildlife trampling over it. What she was really searching for was the sound of Damon's breathing and, y'know, not a scream for help garbled off by heavy blood flow.
Caroline whirled on the spot, fisting her hands through her hair. She needed to concentrate. Stefan was relying on her; Elena and Bonnie were relying on her. She couldn't let them down. She had to remember what she had been taught.
First, deep breaths. Block out all the sounds that don't matter.
Caroline breathed heavily through her nose.
Check.
Focus on the person you're looking for, your instinct will guide you from there. Think of their voice, think of their movements, where would they go? How fast would they be moving?
Despite Caroline's attempts, she couldn't lock on to Damon's movements; she couldn't hear him in the woods at all. Turned out – she didn't need to.
"HELP!"
Caroline's heart jump started in her chest. The voice was distant, but with her heightened senses it sounded like it was screaming at her from every direction. Caroline stumbled forward, her mind whirring at a speed she could barely keep up with. That was a guy's voice – a human guy's voice – in the woods, somewhere in the woods. Screaming for help.
Caroline knew she didn't have time to waste. Throwing all her vampiric speed had to offer, she kicked off the ground and ran.
It only took her minutes to reach the site of the disaster, but even before she got there she knew it was too late.
It had been obvious from the moment she heard the screams.
If Damon had been in his right mind, or in any mind for that matter, he would have compelled the guy not to scream so he could feed and get out of there as fast as possible. But Damon hadn't compelled him because Damon wasn't Damon right now. And as Caroline stood in the wooded clearing, her fists clenched tightly at her sides, she realised just how much the sickness had warped him. Just how much the hunger had changed him. Just how not-Damon he had really become.
There was blood everywhere. The metallic stench was so overpowering that Caroline had to physically force her vampiric state not to react. She shifted uneasily on her feet as she surveyed the grotesque sight before her.
The man who had been accountable for the screaming looked about thirty five and was decked in early morning running gear. Caroline cringed inwardly. If only he'd been somewhere else… anywhere else. His features stared at her boldly from a distant, very dead gaze. His hair – now matted in blood – had once been blonde and his eyes were green, though they were greying even now. Caroline knew there was no way on Earth she could revive him, simply because the head that stared at her was no longer connected to a body. In fact it had rolled several feet away. Caroline hated herself for it, but as she stared at that bloodied corpse, she could begin to feel her mouth water.
Caroline was so captured by the dead body that she almost didn't notice Damon. He stood before her, eyes red; his face a tangled vine of black veins. Nothing about him seemed familiar. His stance was predatory, his mouth and clothes were drenched in an innocent man's blood. And yet, despite all of this, Caroline could only feel pity for him.
"Damon," Caroline barely murmured. She couldn't bring herself to talk any louder. Right now, Damon was just stood there, breathing heavily, barely aware of his surroundings. If she so much as rose her voice he could be gone in a second and then what? Would he continue his rampage until someone stopped him? Or until he was sated? Could he even be sated in the state he was in? As a… Ripper?
Damon took a step forward and it took everything in Caroline's dwindling power to keep herself rooted to the spot. If Damon attacked her, she could hold him off. Elena had said he was weaker; maybe he was still stronger than your average human but Caroline wasn't human. She was strong, she'd fought Damon before, she could do it again. Squaring her shoulders, Caroline forced her gaze into Damon's blue eyes.
"Damon, it's okay," Caroline found herself saying. She wasn't sure why, nothing about this situation was okay. But her tone of voice was working. Damon had stopped mid-stride, the veins on his face quivered as he listened to Caroline's words in an oddly vacant way. Caroline swallowed. "Damon, listen to me. I'm going to come to you, okay?" God, she wished Stefan was here right now. This was way out of her comfort zone. "Just stay there."
Very carefully, Caroline tried to take a step forward. The minute she did so, however, Damon reacted. He lowered his body, eyes narrowed as a hollow growl rumbled at the base of his throat. Caroline closed her eyes as she froze on the spot. This wouldn't work, Damon was like a trapped animal, he'd attack anyone that came close despite their intentions. The only other thing she could try that might even remotely work would be to take him by surprise.
Before Caroline could think better of it, she did exactly that.
With a burst of speed, Caroline threw herself in front of Damon, grabbed him by the hem of his shirt and pushed his back into the closest tree. She held him there, one hand secure on his throat, her free arm placed just at his diaphragm.
"STEFAN!" Caroline yelled, knowing that that would be all it took. Stefan would hear her. Stefan would come.
At the sound of Stefan's name, Damon became oddly complaint. He didn't fight against Caroline's easily superior strength, he didn't even try. Instead, he sagged against the tree; his head fell down towards his chest as a small groan escaped his lips.
Caroline's eyes widened. "Oh God, Damon, is that you?"
Damon lifted his head minutely before his eyes scrunched together in pain. "B-Barbie?"
Caroline almost hugged him out of sheer relief. "Oh thank God."
"What's going on?" Damon tried to move, but he immediately stumbled. Caroline was only barely able to keep him from falling altogether. She held him upright, feeling the alarming heat of his skin as it radiated against her body.
"Okay, you need to sit," Caroline said hastily as she wound her arm around Damon's back. Carefully, she helped lower Damon to the floor, propping him up in a way that he could easily lean his weight against the base of the tree.
Damon didn't fight against what Caroline was doing, in fact he didn't say a word. The minute he was sat on the ground, he drew his legs up in front of him and groaned. Damon wrapped his arms around his legs and let his head fall against his knees. He looked completely drained. Caroline didn't even think he knew what he'd just done, let alone whether he could smell the blood that's pungent scent practically encompassed the entire clearing.
Caroline stood there awkwardly for a few moments, trying to figure out what she should do when – finally – she heard movement from behind her.
Caroline's shoulders crumpled in relief. "Stefan."
Stefan took in the scene before him with one brief sweep of his eyes. Caroline watched his body tense as he took in the blood, the runner, the runner's head and finally watched as his gaze fixed onto Damon.
"It's alright," Caroline said as Stefan moved towards them both. "He snapped out of it a few minutes ago."
Stefan barely paid attention to the body or the blood as he came to a stop in front of his brother. Caroline thought he was doing remarkably well under the circumstances. Quietly, she took a step back, allowing Stefan to crouch down and meet at Damon's level.
They had been too late. On some level, Stefan knew that this would be the case. After all, Damon was fast and incredibly ruthless when he was in his own mind. When he was out of his mind? Well, he would only become more so. Stefan closed his eyes in frustration as he knelt in front of his brother, placing a hand against his shoulder.
"Damon," Stefan said softly, "Damon can you hear me?"
Damon was roused from whatever state he had been in as he pulled his face away from his arms. Stefan felt his stomach twist.
Damon's face was covered in blood, the most heavily affected areas being around his lips and chin. Damon's eyes – however – were what caught Stefan's attention the most. They hadn't reverted back to normal, the whites still remained red and veins continued to writhe just beneath the surface of his skin. Damon shuddered as though he could physically feel their presence before his body tensed in pain. "Ts-hurts Stef," Damon croaked. "Everything hurts."
"Your eyes," Stefan said, squeezing his brother's shoulder.
Damon shook his head dazedly. "I can't," he said before his chest heaved and he started to cough violently into his folded arms. Stefan held him steady for all it was worth, but he could do little to ease the pain Damon was suffering from.
"Stefan," Damon said once the fit was over. He didn't remove his face from his arms. "What did I do?"
Stefan saw the flashes of the headless man behind him, could catch the iron tang of blood in the air. Something told him that Damon was more than aware of what he might have done, but without the memory to prove it and the sickness ravaging every part of him… Stefan couldn't tell Damon, not yet. "Let's not talk about that right now."
"I fed," Damon said miserably, "didn't I?"
"Damon-"
"Agh!" Damon's hands dived down to hold his abdomen. He bent over himself as a fierce shudder of pain jolted through his body. "It hurts," he said again before lifting his head to meet Stefan's gaze. The fearful look in Damon's expression seemed somehow wrong whilst his face was locked in its vampiric state. As if to answer Stefan's thoughts, Damon's gaze moved to the ground. "I can't…" he said, shaking his head. "The blood…"
Stefan's attention was turned back to the grotesque scene that Damon had left behind him. Stefan couldn't blame Damon for what had happened, if anything he blamed himself. He'd known there was something wrong with Damon the minute he couldn't finish that blood bag. Granted, Stefan hadn't expected Damon to go on a murderous rampage, but considering all he had been through, Stefan shouldn't have left him on his own no matter what. For the first time since Stefan had got there, he looked for Caroline.
The young blonde was stood a few feet away, her gaze remained firmly locked on a tree furthest from the bloodshed. Stefan knew it couldn't be easy for her, especially now he knew she'd found Damon in the state that had driven him to rip a stranger's head off. Stefan closed his eyes. "Caroline, can you call Elena? Tell her to get here as soon as possible."
Caroline frowned. "Okay, but-"
"She'll need to help you bring Damon back to the house," Stefan continued briskly. "I have to… get rid of the body."
Stefan heard Damon take a sharp intake of breath and that was all it took for his attention to return to his brother. Damon had bowed his head, his eyes pressed firmly shut. Stefan could see in Damon's body language that it was taking all of his remaining strength to keep himself from reacting to the blood. Stefan knew how Damon was feeling, Hell he felt it every day, but Damon had never needed to. He'd never had a problem with his control; he could be in a room covered wall to wall with blood and not even bat an eye. But this was different. Damon's last resolve had been broken the minute the curse had taken effect. He hadn't been drinking blood, he was sick and he was starving. It didn't matter that he'd just drained a man to the point of tearing his head off, that wouldn't sate him. Not in the condition he was in.
"Damon," Stefan said and this time he reached for his brother's face. Gently, he lifted Damon's head up, forcing him to meet his gaze. Stefan could sense Damon's confusion, but it was mostly masked by the tension in his body. The barely restrained impulse to attack. The veins underside his eyes writhed as Damon tried to look away, but Stefan wouldn't let him.
"Elena and Caroline are going to take you to the house," Stefan explained, flicking his chin in the direction Caroline had gone to call Elena, "but before they can do that I need you to get your control back."
Damon's eyes suggested he was only half paying attention; the rest of his mind was far too focused on the scent of blood. Still, Damon shook his head, grimacing for his efforts. "I can't-"
"Yes you can," Stefan insisted. "I know you can. We're just going to have to use some old school techniques." Stefan held Damon's face a little firmer. "I need you to focus on your breathing, in and out." Damon's gaze began to wander, but Stefan only spoke louder in response. "Hey listen to me, you have to breathe. Come on Damon, in and out."
Finally, the message seemed to get through. Damon closed his eyes and – following his brother's instructions – he began to breathe slowly, focusing on the motions of Stefan's chest as it rose and fell.
Gradually, it began to work. Stefan watched with unmasked relief as the ever-present tangle of black veins finally began to recede from Damon's face, fading into nothing. The red in his brother's eyes was replaced with white, though they were still bloodshot, proving just how exhausted Damon really was.
When the last of the red had vanished from Damon's face, Stefan gripped his brother's shoulder tightly. "Elena will be here soon, they'll get you back to the house."
Damon had looked away from Stefan the moment he'd regained control. His eyes remained distant as he let Stefan's words sink in. "Elena…"
Stefan could detect the longing in Damon's voice, but also something else. Fear, he realised. Damon was afraid of hurting her.
"She wants to help, and right now she needs to." Stefan didn't need to elaborate, he was certain Damon had heard him when he'd explained to Caroline the situation with the dead body. "Hey," Stefan said, drawing their faces closer, "it's going to be okay."
Both the brothers knew those were empty words. There was no way of telling what would happen next, how long Damon could keep it together and –for that matter – whether there was even a cure on the way. But everything was an empty promise right now; it was all they had left to live by. And, if it gave them hope, then where was the harm? Carefully, Stefan stood up, though he made a point of keeping close to Damon's side. "Do you think you can stand?"
The minute Elena received the phone call, she'd been out the door.
Caroline had been borderline hysterical, her voice hitching and falling at odd intervals as she tried to recount everything that had happened in the woods over the phone. Elena held still for most of it, knowing that she couldn't leave Bonnie on her own, but what Caroline said next had proved too much to ignore.
He killed someone; I don't even think he knows. Elena, it's bad, really bad.
Bonnie seemed to know what was happening the moment Elena had shot to life. She gave her friend a hard look, nodding to her resolutely. Elena knew that was her permission to leave and, honestly, if the stakes hadn't been as high as what Caroline was recounting, she might have stayed with Bonnie for her own safety. But Damon had been found; the danger towards Bonnie had been neutralised. And that was the only good thing to come out of it.
Elena marched through the grass, throwing herself into full throttle vampire speed as she demanded details from Caroline over the phone.
It was a man, a runner, wrong time wrong place. His head… Oh God, Elena, he ripped the guy's head off.
Elena's ears were buzzing; she barely heard Caroline's voice as she followed her instinct, waiting for the inevitable scent of blood to guide her to the scene.
Ripping someone's head off was a sure sign of a vampire that had lost control - that had stumbled into Ripper territory. Elena knew she should have expected it, but her body was far too numb to process the obvious. Not until it hit her from all directions. Not until she was standing slap bang at the centre of the murder scene.
The smell of blood hung heavy in the air, leaving Elena feeling an odd mixture of nauseated and hungry. She hated herself for it, hated that her instinct as a vampire was to find this kind of blood shed normal, but right now she couldn't focus on that. She refused to look at the body that Stefan was already gathering up to dispose of, she refused her vampire instincts as the blood tried to overwhelm her. Instead she marched purposely onwards, her cell phone clasped firmly in her fist.
Caroline was stood alongside Damon who was standing with his weight practically reliant on the sturdy trunk of a nearby tree.
Elena was next to him in an instant. Her stomach knotted with apprehension as she regarded his state with one swoop of her eyes.
It was everything Caroline had said and more. Damon's face was pale; his mouth gave the impression of a twisted work of art what with the dark smears of blood that stained his skin. His eyes were open – barely - and Elena was sure he was only half aware of his surroundings. Placing a hand to his arm confirmed her already churning thoughts. Damon was burning up again, his skin searing hot to the touch.
Damon reacted minutely to her touch, his arm twitched as his eyes scrunched closed in pain. "Elena…" he groaned.
"It's alright," Elena said immediately, though she knew it was anything but. Damon's shirt was soaked in the blood of an innocent man. Elena knew Damon's track record and perhaps a kill like this shouldn't have seemed important, but somehow Elena knew it would be an event everyone present would find hard to shake. Simply because Damon hadn't been in control.
Elena didn't have any more time to think on the matter, for Stefan was suddenly standing in front of her, speaking words she hadn't heard.
Elena blinked dazedly. "Huh?"
Stefan shook his head. "I said, we don't have long until sunrise, you need to get Damon back to the house and… try to keep Bonnie out of his sight, he's not in control."
Elena swallowed thickly, nodding her understanding. Caroline did the same before taking Damon's other arm and gently winding it over her shoulder. Damon didn't protest, which was enough to worry Elena. Still, she didn't waste time and instead supported Damon's other side as the three finally began their journey back to the house.
That journey took longer than expected.
After a short distance, it was quickly made apparent that Damon was in too much pain to walk. Every few steps he'd lean forward against Elena and Caroline's dwindling grip, his body twisting in over itself as he groaned in pain. Elena hated it, hated hearing someone she loved so dearly in all kinds of anguish, but there was little she could do. There was still a long distance separating them from the Boarding House and they had just under half an hour before the sun started to rise.
Finally, it proved too much. Damon gasped out and in doing so removed his arm from around Caroline's shoulder. Caroline grabbed frantically for Damon, trying to keep him steady, but he didn't need her. Instead he leant heavily on Elena, though he held enough of his weight to remain standing, his free arm wrapped tightly around his abdomen.
"Wait," he gasped.
Elena clung to Damon with all she had, ignoring the unnatural heat radiating from his skin in favour of keeping him from keeling over. "What's wrong?"
Damon didn't respond at first, and Elena could feel from the tension in his shoulders that he was fighting an immense amount of pain. In that moment, she felt so insignificant. There was nothing she could do to help him; Damon was suffering and there was no way she could lessen that torture. She strengthened her hold on her boyfriend, wrapping her arm around his back in the only comfort that she could provide. "Damon?" she asked quietly, knowing that his senses were just about sky rocketing for him now.
Damon shook his head as he leant further forward. "I can't… I gotta get it out."
"Get what out?" Elena asked, though she already had a good idea.
Caroline answered for her. "The blood."
Damon groaned in response.
"He can't ingest it, remember?" Caroline shook her head. "Oh God, it's like what Bonnie said, what the curse said, he'd reject his essence."
"But I-" Elena faltered; she hadn't told Caroline about being able to compel Damon and given the circumstances, now wasn't the best time to throw new information in her face. "He drank some blood back at the house."
"And then he came out here," Caroline said sadly.
Elena's eyes sparked with understanding. Between the house and attacking that jogger, Damon had given his body no time to reject the blood. Just like compulsion, his body was unable to do more than one thing at once. He couldn't sate the urge to feed and regurgitate it at the same time, not in the state he'd been in at least. Elena suppressed a shudder at the thought of Damon's deranged, unrecognisable gaze back at the house.
"It feels like I've swallowed a bunch of knives," Damon groaned. He shook his head again. "I have to-" Damon paused as he gagged, holding his free hand to his mouth.
Elena held Damon steady as he lurched forwards. "It's alright," she said to him soothingly, repeating that same phrase was all she had left. "I'm here, I've got you."
After that, Elena's nurturing side kicked in. Just as she had done back at the house, she moved on automatic, allowing Caroline to wait on the side lines as she drew Damon into a nearby cluster of trees. There, she held Damon steady as he began to heave and, finally, vomit blood into the dirt.
Elena rubbed comforting circles across Damon's back and shoulders, trying to ease as much discomfort as she could whilst silently praying that – at the very least – some of the blood had managed to absorb into Damon's system.
Once Damon was done, Elena allowed him a few precious moments of recovery before she called Caroline forward so they could continue their journey.
Without the blood causing him discomfort, Damon managed the rest of the way a lot easier, though he still needed Elena and Caroline's assistance. By the time they were at the front door, Caroline hurried forwards, assuring Elena that she'd keep Bonnie safe and away from Damon's heightened senses.
While Caroline saw to Bonnie, Elena guided Damon up the stairs and back into the bedroom. She guided him past the bed, however, and instead led him into the ensuite where she finally let him collapse against the bath tub.
"What're you doing?" Damon asked tiredly. Exhaustion riddled his expression, but Elena couldn't let him lie down just yet.
"You're covered in blood," Elena said, immediately regretting her wording as Damon flinched. She pursed her lips. "You need to get cleaned up," she took a flannel from the sink and began to soak it in warm water, "so that's what I'm going to do."
"Elena Gilbert, I'm not sure this is the time for bathtub shenanigans."
Elena couldn't help the relieved smile that spread across her face as she continued to soak the flannel. It felt so damn long since Damon had managed to hold any semblance of his usual personality. Had it really only been a few hours since they had lain in bed together, talking about Constance?
Constance. Elena did the math in her head; they had just about half a day until Constance was supposed to arrive. As for the crows, she'd seen a few perched on the windowsill of Damon's room, waiting to be disbanded. Elena wrung the flannel in her hands, expelling a few of her frustrations as she did so, surely Constance hadn't needed to send a crow every hour on the hour. Something told Elena that this vampire was something of a drama queen.
Maybe that's where Damon gets it from.
That thought almost gave Elena reason to smile as she moved to Damon with the cloth, kneeling on the tile in front of her boyfriend as she gently began to wipe the smeared blood from his face.
Damon didn't try to stop her and, judging by the tension that lined his shoulders, Elena knew why. Despite the small amount of blood that might have entered his system, he was still in pain, his body held in a coil of sickness that he couldn't escape. He probably had very little energy to waste on matters like getting clean. If Damon could have had it his way, Elena was sure he'd just drop into bed, dirty sheets be damned.
A blur of movement from the other room caught Elena's attention. She felt a swell of relief to find Caroline in the other room, working the bedclothes off Damon's bed in short, equal bursts of speed. Noticing she'd gathered Elena's attention, Caroline paused to give her a dutiful look. "I found where the spare sheets are kept." She shrugged. "I figured a clean bed might make him feel a little better."
At a loss for words, Elena could only smile her thanks. Caroline had never been that caring towards Damon, though the two held a bond that, over time, had forged into a mutual understanding. Caroline cared about Damon in her own way and after what she'd seen, Elena was surprised that she hadn't backed down in fear or at the very least disgust. But that wasn't Caroline's nature. She'd smother a person with every ounce of kindness she could offer rather than let them waste away. She was obsessive and sometimes that came off as a little crazy. But she was thorough and good and God Elena was glad she had Caroline with her right now.
Damon's eyes were beginning to fall closed, so Elena drew herself back to the task at hand. While Caroline changed the sheets, Elena wiped the rest of the blood from Damon's face, running the flannel across his jawline in soft, easy strokes. Damon made no noise of acknowledgment, but his eyes did flicker, watching Elena with an exhausted expression that she took to mean gratitude. By the time she was finished, the white cloth was sullied with red smears.
"Damon," Elena said quietly, rousing the older Salvatore from the edge of unconsciousness.
"Hm?"
Elena sighed, running her hands across Damon's shirt. The blood had dried, hardened and crusted into the fabric, making it coarse against her fingers. "You're going to have to take your shirt off."
Despite his exhaustion, Damon managed a half smile. "Taking advantage of me like this?" He gave a low chuckle. "I never knew you were into that sorta thing."
Elena rolled her eyes, though she smiled despite herself. "Arms up."
Damon obliged, this time with his eyes open. It was obvious he was still fighting exhaustion with every instant that passed, but he was able to focus on this new task, namely, getting a clean shirt on. Once Elena had helped Damon remove his dirty shirt, she paused, her hands hesitating over his bare chest for half a second before she stood to collect the fresh clothing from his dresser.
Elena ran a new cloth over Damon's torso before she would let him clothe himself. She couldn't help but notice the unnatural heat that continued to radiate from him even then. It was obvious to her how sick he must feel and, honestly, Elena couldn't help but admire how well he was holding it together after all that had happened in the last hour alone.
Once Damon was clean and Caroline had finished changing the sheets, Elena finally helped her boyfriend up, allowing him to lean the brunt of his weight against her as they struggled back into the bedroom. Damon's energy was fading fast, which was only further verified when he practically collapsed into bed, letting out a small groan as his head hit the pillow.
Elena tucked the sheets over him, her eyes drifting over every inch of Damon's body, searching for anything more she could do to help. It provided fruitless, the only thing that would help Damon now until Constance arrived would be whatever peace he found in sleep.
Elena didn't move; her body far too wound up from all that had happened. She tried to focus on a single memory, but her brain felt like static. All that stood out was the fear that had gripped her when she'd found Damon barely holding it together… and the stench of blood. Elena was shaken from her thoughts, however, when she heard Damon speak.
"Elena." His voice was hoarse and the words hardly carried, but Elena picked up on them.
"I'm right here," she said, threading her fingers through his hand that lay closest to her.
Damon's face looked transparent in the dark. His eyes scrunched together in obvious pain as he tried to form the words he desperately wanted to speak. "Elena… I'm sorry."
Elena's stomach knotted furiously. "You don't have to say that, it's not your fault, none of this is."
"It doesn't matter, and I do." Damon's eyes were open, bright blue spotlights in an otherwise bleak atmosphere. He watched Elena closely, his expression open in one of those rare instances of utter vulnerability. He was letting her see inside him, she realised, to the person that Elena had always known existed, but had been hard to reach at first, buried beneath layers of playful sarcasm and cold humour. It had taken a while for Elena to break that armour, but now she had, that expression was familiar to her. A warm beacon she desperately wanted to huddle close to and never let go.
Damon continued, his voice barely above a whisper: "God, Elena, I'm sorry for everything, all you've had to see today…" Elena wanted to stop him, but Damon seemed to pick up on that and only spoke faster: "And not just about what happened out there, but what happened here. What I did to you." He broke off to cough. "I attacked you."
"You weren't in your right mind."
"Remember when I told you to stop defending me?" Damon replied thickly.
Elena's lips quirked into a small smile. "And I don't take orders from you."
Damon rolled his eyes in that frustrated way she loved. He pressed his face into his pillow, letting out a low groan. "You're so damned stubborn."
Elena's eyes sparked. "So are you."
Damon lifted his head upwards, his bangs drifting lazily over his eyes.
They stayed in that position a moment longer, Elena looking into Damon's eyes and Damon, well, his gaze was searching. Elena had seen it before; the way Damon sometimes watched her, waiting for something in her expression slip, but it never did.
There had been so many ups and downs in their relationship, so many strains put on them not just by themselves but by the people around them. Still, no matter how hard it got, no matter how many obstacles got in their way, they always found each other in the end. That kind of love, Elena surmised, would never falter, she was as sure of it as she was of her next breath. Maybe one day Damon would see that too… and maybe right then he did. Elena's hand drifted from Damon's fingers and instead glided towards his face, brushing against his fever warm cheek.
Damon watched her carefully, his eyes expressing his guilt. "Elena…"
"Sh." Elena pressed her finger against Damon's mouth. "You don't have to say anything else." Her gaze softened. "I forgive you, Damon."
Damon fell speechless and, in that silence, Elena leant forwards and gently placed a kiss on Damon's lips, allowing the moment to draw out for as long as they both needed. Damon closed his eyes in response, his hand drawing up to hold Elena's hair, threading it through his fingers as he kissed her back. The kiss was passionate, shedding its usual spark of sexual tension in favour of something deeper. The promise of comfort that the two so desperately needed from each other. When Elena finally drew away, her body molten with the moment they had just shared, she was happy to find that Damon had managed to sink into unconsciousness, the smallest of smiles gracing his lips.
Caroline wasn't sure what to do with herself.
After getting Bonnie out of the parlour and back into her bedroom, warning her explicitly of Damon's current state, there wasn't much else for Caroline to do. She'd busied herself with any remedial task she could think of, starting with changing the sheets in Damon's bedroom and ending up, somehow, standing in the parlour, straightening pillows that had fallen out of place when everyone had been gathered there earlier.
After that was done, Caroline just stood there awkwardly, toying uselessly with her daylight ring.
Naturally, the first thing Caroline wanted to do was talk. But to who? Bonnie was clearly exhausted - though she refused to admit it - and spent every moment she wasn't worrying about her friends studying the grimoires for any more useful information she could find on Constance and the curse.
There was always Elena; after all, Elena had seen everything Caroline had, more actually, considering Damon had attacked her in the bedroom. But… no, Caroline couldn't talk to Elena, she spent every moment she had with Damon and who could blame her really? He needed her, Caroline had seen it in the way Damon favoured Elena's touch to hers even when he was being torn up from the inside out by the blood he'd ingested. Damon hadn't even been coherent and yet he'd searched Elena out above anyone else.
Caroline thought it was sweet, but it also made her a little sad. She remembered when she'd acted as that comfort to Tyler when he'd first discovered the werewolf curse. How he'd searched her out every full moon. How she'd held him after every transformation. Caroline saw a little of what she used to have of Tyler in Damon and Elena and it made her heart ache. What did she have now? An empty parlour with no one to talk to.
It wasn't her friend's fault, Caroline knew that. They had problems of their own and tasks they had to complete, but where did that leave her? Cleaning a room that really didn't need to be cleaned; thinking hopeless thoughts at the break of dawn. She smiled bitterly to herself.
Caroline was about to head back to Bonnie's room - maybe check back up on Damon and Elena on her way up - when she heard movement at the front door.
A rush of warmth overcame her as she froze in mid-stride.
Stefan.
After everything that had happened, Caroline had almost forgotten about him.
Stefan had seen to the dead body immediately, assuring Caroline that he'd dispose of it somewhere that it would never be found. Caroline didn't question where that was, this wasn't the first time one of the Salvatore brothers had gotten rid of a body and she assumed Stefan knew what he was doing.
Still, when Stefan opened the door, Caroline's spirits immediately rose. She moved into the hallway, raising her hand in means of greeting.
Stefan looked dishevelled; a haunted look traced his green eyes. Caroline felt a twist of guilt on her part. Here she was, feeling thrilled that she finally had someone to talk to, when that shouldn't have been her first thought at all. Stefan had just returned from dumping a body his brother was responsible of putting there. His brother who was sick and maybe even dying in the bedroom upstairs. Caroline cursed herself inwardly; sometimes she could be so shallow. Kiddie pool, her mind whispered tauntingly.
"Hey," Caroline said, voice low. "Is it… done?" She didn't know what else to ask. What could she possibly say that was appropriate at this time?
Stefan nodded his head soberly. His gaze flickered to the floor before he looked towards the staircase, shoulders taut with concern. "How's Damon?"
"Oh," Caroline said, wringing her hands nervously. "He's okay, I mean as okay as he can be. He sorta… puked up the blood he drank earlier, but I think it made him feel better." Caroline shrugged, she knew she was babbling, but she couldn't stop herself. "But that's what the curse said, I suppose. I mean, he's rejecting his essence so…" Caroline drew off when she realised Stefan wasn't really listening. He did seem put out when she'd mentioned Damon rejecting the blood, though.
"Elena's with him?"
Caroline's eyes widened marginally. "Yeah, she hasn't left his side." She'd seen Elena tend to Damon in the bathroom while she'd been changing his sheets. Despite his exhaustion, Damon seemed perfectly content under Elena's care. Caroline felt her heart twist uncomfortably. "He's asleep now, though. I mean, he sounds like he is."
A little of the tension from Stefan lifted. "Good, that's good."
"What about you?" Caroline asked before she could really stop herself. The questioning look Stefan gave her in return was enough to keep her talking. "I mean, uh, when was the last time you slept?"
Stefan shook his head. "Properly? Not since before this started."
Caroline chuckled lowly to herself. "Same here."
"You should try, you know, to get some rest."
Caroline's head lifted at that. She tried to read Stefan's expression, but she couldn't see much past his serious vampire look. Her shoulders heaved in defeat. "I can't, it doesn't feel right."
Stefan raised his eyebrow and Caroline realised he wanted her to elaborate. She shrugged awkwardly. "It's just…" she sighed, her frustrations finally bubbling to the very surface. "It's just that everyone's doing something and I feel useless, you know? Elena's with Damon practically twenty four seven and so are you and even Bonnie's got her nose stuck in a grimoire every second trying to figure this out and I tried to read the grimoires, but a lot of it isn't in English and Bonnie just got pissed at me when I tried asking her for the translations! So I tried cleaning the house, I mean it's not like it's a dump but it's something I can do to help… but now Damon's sheets are clean and the pillows are fluffed and there's nothing left to do and I can't just do nothing, I can't, not while everyone else is being useful and-" Caroline stopped abruptly when she noticed Stefan's reaction. Far from tuning her out, he was watching her with a fond expression. And he was smiling.
"Is something funny?" Caroline demanded hotly.
"What?" Stefan immediately went on the defence, though his smile didn't fade. "No, of course not. It's just… it's nice."
"Nice?" Caroline asked incredulously.
Stefan shrugged. "That you care, that you want to help as much as you do when you really don't have to."
"Of course I have to!" Caroline fumed. "What kind of friend would I be if I didn't?"
Stefan's smile lifted as he moved a step closer to Caroline, reaching out to hold her arm. She decided to let him. "Hey, it's alright Caroline. You've been amazing help, really. Just… give yourself a break."
Caroline shook her head. "Stefan…"
"I'll take one with you."
Caroline's eyes widened. "No… you can't."
"Damon's asleep," Stefan said, his gaze rising towards the ceiling. "He's not going anywhere, especially not with Elena on watch."
A rueful smile crossed Caroline's lips. She didn't doubt that for a second.
"I think if we can't sleep, we might as well relax, at least for a while."
Caroline felt Stefan add a little pressure to her arm, trying for a reassuring squeeze. She sighed. "I guess… I guess that couldn't hurt."
"Good." Stefan smiled back. A real, genuine smile. That was hard to come by under normal circumstances. With all that had happened… Caroline considered this a godsend. With that said, Stefan moved into the parlour, guiding Caroline with him. She followed at his side, watching as he crossed the room towards the oak table that housed an untouched bottle of bourbon. He poured himself a drink, his gaze falling on Caroline. She knew it was silly, but that look made her feel all kinds of warm inside.
"Here," Stefan said, handing a generously filled glass towards her. For a split second, Caroline thought against it, but after all that had happened tonight, could she really deny that she needed a break? It wasn't like anyone needed her help right now, Damon wasn't on the loose and Bonnie had her spells to keep her company.
Caroline's eyes fell on the drink that Stefan was offering and, with a half shrug, she accepted it. "Screw it," she said thinly, raising the glass to her lips. "Might as well."
Bonnie had been nose deep in one of Emily Bennett's grimoires when Caroline had burst through the door, practically corralling her upstairs as she tried to explain what had happened in the woods.
Bonnie only heard half of what Caroline was trying to say, the rest of her attention had been on her own poorly placed footing as Caroline tried to drag her upstairs in bursts of vampiric speed. It was not an experience she wanted to repeat any time soon.
Still, Bonnie caught the gist of it. Damon had been found and… from what she could tell, it wasn't good. From the snippets she had caught from Elena before she'd run out to help and the explanation Caroline recited to her, she understood that Damon had killed someone. That – under normal circumstances – wouldn't have surprised her, but something about the situation gave her reason to pause. Despite what Bonnie had seen of Damon's state, she hadn't thought he'd kill someone. She didn't know why, Hell, Damon had killed people when he wasn't delirious from fever and driven mad with sickness, it was the instinct of a vampire, after all… but there was a nagging sensation in the pit of her stomach, a silent question whirring through her brain. It kept pestering her, buzzing through her ears like white noise.
If Damon was that hungry then…
Why didn't he attack me?
Bonnie blinked back into the present. She was sat cross legged on the generous King-sized bed that had been her room for almost a day now. Caroline had disappeared a while ago; she couldn't make an exact account of when that had been simply because she'd been so immersed in her work… and her own thoughts.
Bonnie shifted slightly in her position, turning the page of her latest grimoire half-heartedly. She'd returned to one of Emily Bennett's, a rather large volume that had briefly mentioned the spell that she had cast on Elena's biological father, John Gilbert, when Klaus had used her in the sacrifice almost two years ago. Bonnie hadn't known what the spell had done until Jeremy thought to use his family's journals, but now that she did… she didn't know what to think.
At the time, seeing the letters C.C inscribed on a spell hadn't seemed odd at all, but now that she knew that C.C referred to a vampire… it didn't make any sense. Witches hated vampires, they went against nature. Any allegiances were short-lived and they were surely never mentioned in spells unless they were meant for offense. Bonnie couldn't wrap her mind around it and she'd hoped that if she returned to that grimoire, she might find more on Constance, more on the Trickster, even, but no such luck. There was nothing but those initials.
Bonnie had just closed the book when she heard a rap at her bedroom door.
"You don't have to knock, Care," Bonnie said as she flopped back against the bed. Coloured shapes flashed before her eyes as she blinked, proving that she'd been concentrating for far too long.
"It's not Caroline," said Elena's voice as her face appeared in the doorway.
Bonnie had to fight the urge to bundle her friend into a hug the second she saw her. Elena looked dishevelled, her brown curls fell lank at her shoulders and there were noticeable bags around her eyes. She'd been caring for Damon since the minute she'd stepped into the Boarding House and it showed clearly in her expression how seriously she had taken that task. Damon was supremely lucky to have Elena, Bonnie thought absently to herself, though from the looks she'd seen the two share, she was pretty sure he'd known that from the minute he'd met her.
"Elena," Bonnie said, jerking back into a sitting position. She patted the bedspread at her side, giving her a warm smile. "Is everything okay?"
It wasn't the best wording, true, but Elena understood Bonnie's meaning. She moved to the bed sluggishly, plopping herself down next to her best friend. "Damon's asleep, I don't want to leave him for long." Bonnie could understand that, she'd heard Elena and seen a flash of Damon when Caroline had dragged her back to her room. He hadn't looked good. Still, Bonnie let her friend continue. "I just… I wanted to talk to you about something."
Bonnie leant closer to Elena instinctively. "You can tell me anything."
Elena smiled gratefully, her hands bunched fistfuls of duvet at her sides. "It's about… Constance."
Bonnie felt herself stiffen. "What about her?"
Elena shook her head. Whatever was bothering her, it had been building for a while, Bonnie knew the signs. She scooched up the bed, leaning her back against the headboard and hoping Elena would follow suit. She did.
"When I was with Damon… he let me see inside his head." Elena paused as though she was waiting to be reprimanded. Bonnie, however, remained silent. It would do no good commenting when she didn't have the full story. A little of the tension in Elena shifted as she gathered a breath to continue. "He let me see more of what I saw before; that girl in his head was Constance and what I saw was actually the first time they met." Elena stopped again, her gaze drew distant. "I didn't know what to expect, and I don't think I saw enough to get a good picture of her anyway… but what I did see… she was cold."
Bonnie frowned. "Cold?"
Elena shrugged helplessly. "She was powerful, she batted Damon around like he was nothing, but there was more to it than that… I can't explain it but it was like everything was a game to her, like nothing really mattered."
Bonnie's stomach knotted. "You're afraid she doesn't care enough about Damon?"
Surprisingly, Elena shook her head. "Actually, I think she does. I can't explain it Bonnie, but what I saw in his head, it was warped and twisted, but… Constance approved of Damon somehow. She actually liked him."
Bonnie didn't wait any longer. She wrapped her arm around Elena's shoulders, drawing the two of them closer. Elena smiled, leaning her head reliantly on Bonnie's shoulder. "It's stupid, because I know Constance will come, I'm sure of it now, but…"
Bonnie kept her gaze fixed firmly on the wall opposite. "You're afraid of her."
Elena's laugh was hollow. "Yeah, Bon, I think I am."