Falling Slowly

As usual I do not own The Vampire Diaries, but I do love to play in their world from time to time. No Copyright infringement intended.

Get ready for the new rating of M, if you are offended by more mature themes, be warned. You will see where it starts to head in that direction pretty clearly at the end of the chapter if you'd like to exit early, but it is safe to read up to that point and skip over the last section break.

First of all, thank you so much to everyone who reviewed. I think there were a total of 16 for the day! And 3000 views in less than 24 hours, which is crazy. I am loving this story and the more I hear from all of you the more I want to write and share it with you! I know we all say that, but I really mean it!

To my unsigned review from Tara, I think maybe you missed the end of the chapter...it tells you why the hunter killed the girl and who the 'new' hunter is towards the end as well as why Jeremy is team Delena :) I'd tell you more, but I don't want to spoil it for you as I've been working hard to keep that twist under wraps since this all started :)

In fact, that twist was one of the ideas that spawned this little story...Anyway, I had intended to post a chapter earlier today, but I wanted to make sure I got this one right...so please let me know how I did :)

On to the next one...you all know what's coming ;} Hope you enjoy.

Livia

Falling slowly, eyes that know me
And I can't go back
The moods that take me and erase me
And I'm painted black
Well, you have suffered enough
And warred with yourself It's time that you won

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice, you have a choice
You've made it known

Falling Slowly by Glen Hansard

As Damon and Elena made their way to the morgue, Stefan was sitting at the boarding house with Caroline having a discussion about hunters and sire bonds.

"Caroline, I don't know what to do. You should have seen them last night. It's killing me because I love them, and I want them both to be happy but I don't know if I can watch them be happy, together."

"Stefan, we have no idea how much of their connection is a product of the sire bond."

"No Care, we do. He invoked the sire bond right in front of me and she didn't even flinch."

"Could he have loop holed the phrasing? I mean we're talking about Damon." Caroline offered.

"I don't think so. Telling her to forget him, that he would be just a stranger if they met on the street was destroying him." Stefan said as he pulled at his hair before running his hands over his face.

"Then we just need to find the new hunter. Are you sure it's not Jeremy?" Caroline asked.

"Yeah, it looks like he missed out since Connor killed him before he died."

"Then how do we find a new hunter?" She asked.

"I don't know, but Klaus seems to think the arrival of a hunter is directly linked to the sire bond. If he's right, one will show up sooner rather than later." Stefan shared.

"Wait a minute, I'm confused. I thought that the sire bond just existed until someone broke it or died. Damon just didn't do it right." Caroline said glancing over the information Stefan had learned from Klaus.

"I think that's true, about the sire bond, but I'm sure that Damon did everything he could to break it last night. He loves her as much as I do, and I know he wants this to be real. He wouldn't let a sire bond hold her to him if he didn't think she wanted him. He had to know that what she felt went beyond a supernatural tether, but Klaus doesn't think we're dealing with a sire bond, and that's why the hunter appeared." Stefan said.

"Then what are we dealing with." Caroline asked.

"Damon and Elena are mated. You see, a sire bond only requires that the one turned have feelings before they are turned, and as I understand it a mated pair requires that both the vampire and the human have deep rooted feelings for each other before the human dies and transitions. As it turns out, that is exceedingly rare. Rare enough that even Klaus has only seen it happen one time."

"Why?" Caroline wondered.

"Probably because vampires turn humans as a way not to be lonely, or as a manipulation. I mean look at you...you were turned just to piss us off." Stefan said.

"And how is Elena being turned not selfish?" Caroline asked.

"I don't know, maybe because it wasn't his choice. Dr. Fell gave her Damon's blood without his knowledge, or maybe because he didn't want this for her, but more than likely, and I hate to admit this, Elena is the only person on this earth apart from me that Damon would happily hand over his life for, and he loves her just as much as I do." Stefan conceded.

"Come on, there have to be hundreds or thousands of instances where people are unknowingly turned and they aren't sired or mated, or whatever." Caroline said.

"They aren't in love with each other either. Damon and Elena have been in denial about their feelings for years now, but there is no denying what I saw last night."

"What did you see? So she didn't react to the sire bond, so what! You can't give up Stefan. You and Elena are meant to be together."

"Care, you didn't see them. When I walked in that room, I could literally feel the bond snap tight around them as they fed. That's something that Elena and I never had."

"What do you mean? Of course you did!" Caroline shouted.

"No, we didn't. What we had was safe, it was comforting. There was an intensity between them that could scorch the earth around them and they wouldn't have known it. I'm not sure that I can give her that kind of intensity, and what right do I have to deny her that?" Stefan asked.

"Stefan you can't give up. You love her!"

"That's just it. I'm not sure I do love her like this. Sure I love her, but I look at her and I see a vampire first. Elena said something last night, and I really think she might be right. Even Damon called me on it."

"What?"

"She asked me if I could love her the way she is, and I couldn't answer her, but Damon told her he loves her either way, and I believe he does. What if we break the bond, but we can't make her human again. Then what? I will have destroyed the two people I care about most in the world for nothing if I break their bond and I still can't love her as a vampire. So, should I really even be trying?" Stefan asked. "Who's the selfish brother now?"

TVDTVDTVDTVDTVD

Damon and Elena hadn't expected to see the vampire when Sheriff Forbes brought them into the morgue.

"Why are you stashing a vampire in the morgue, Liz? Seems like a bad idea." Damon said.

"Good morning." Meredith said as she came into the small room and handed Damon something bundled in a surgical drape.

"Morning." Damon said with his usual smirk before he unwrapped a large and pointed piece of wood.

"Oh boy, it's a stake! I hate to break it to you, but this one is already dead." Damon exclaimed as he went to inspect it further.

"Careful..." Dr. Fell started as she watched Damon pick it up and immediately drop the stake as it seared his skin.

She picked it up and showed him the markings that had been etched into the back of the stake, "Does this look familiar?"

"It's the mark of the five. This belonged to a hunter?" Damon asked.

"It seems like a reasonable explanation." The doctor offered.

"Then why did we find a body? Usually the hunter buries or burns his kills, and how did the girl end up dead, too?" He asked.

"Well, that's the thing...I think the hunter killed the girl." Meredith said.

"What? Why on earth would he do that? And why does it look like a vampire bit her?" Elena asked.

"I don't know why, but I do think your hunter has been turned because the girl was completely drained of blood and this one didn't have a single drop of it in his system." Meredith shared.

Elena and Damon both looked at each other and said, "Connor."

TVDTVDTVDTVDTVD

After they left the morgue, Damon and Elena headed to Klaus' to see if he knew anything about Connor.

"I turned him?" Elena wondered aloud.

"I think so. I planned to turn him, but he shot me before I had the chance. So, you must have bled into his wounds when you snapped his neck." Damon offered.

"What does this mean?" She asked.

"I don't know, but I'm guessing we have one super pissed and conflicted hunter on our hands." Damon said with a slight smile.

He couldn't help it, the idea of the hunter being the victim of his own directive was too good to be true.

Twenty minutes later, they arrived at Klaus' only to find Elijah standing on the other side of the door.

"Well, well. Isn't this a surprise?" Elijah said as he looked at their intertwined fingers, "it seems that NiKlaus is right about you."

"Good to know EVERYONE is talking about us." Damon spat as he pushed passed Elijah keeping Elena in front of him as he went.

"I just have to see it for myself." Elijah said as he made a grab for Elena.

A fraction of a second later, Elijah was dangling six inches from the floor as Damon leveled his icy blue eyes onto his, "SHE is off limits. You will not use her as a guinea pig. Understood?"

"Fine." Elijah said looking giddy despite his current predicament.

When Damon set him down, he moved to attack him instead and again found himself pinned against the wall, only this time it was the beautiful Elena who gripped his neck in a vice like hold.

"Touch him and I will find a way to separate you from your limbs. You may not be able to die, but I'm fairly certain that you won't find that enjoyable." She growled.

"Interesting." He said as he grinned at the pair. "NiKlaus is in the cellar."

Elena dropped him and Damon just smirked in his direction, "She's stunning when she's angry don't you agree?"

"Quite." Elijah said as he dusted off his suit and followed them down to the cellar.

"Ah, good morning, and how are the star crossed lovers this morning?"

"Lethal." Elijah offered as he rubbed his neck.

"You should have taken heed, brother." Klaus said.

"Next time." Elijah said knowing that would never happen.

"So, what the hell are we doing in your cellar? Did you want to show us your red room of pain?" Damon asked.

"You could say that." Klaus said as he opened the panel on the cell door for them to look inside.

Damon just pushed passed Klaus and opened the door so that he could enter the room, what he found brought a smile to his face. "I knew it."

Connor was standing in the corner covered in blood with dozens of blood bags at his feet. He swayed back and forth as he spoke softly to himself.

"I'm a monster. I can't live. The hunter will come, I have to die."

"I can help you with that." Damon offered.

Connor spun around and spotted Elena immediately, "You! I should kill you where you stand!"

Before anyone could react Connor made a move towards her, his motion stopped as Damon darted to his side and snapped the hunter's neck before he was anywhere near her. As he turned back towards the door, he noticed Klaus was staring in disbelief.

"What? He had it coming, besides I owed him one. Two in fact, but who's counting." Damon said with a shrug. "Besides, he'll be good as new in an hour or two...nuttier than a fruitcake, but back to the walking, talking, staking, biting hunter vamp. And here I thought Stefan was conflicted."

Klaus locked the cellar and the four of them made their way upstairs.

"Given the hunter's penchant for killing himself, that mark should be complete within a day or two." Klaus said as he sat in one of the high backed chairs in the great room.

"And what's to stop him from just putting a stake through his heart?" Damon asked.

"Your teen witch put a spell on him. He can only inflict mortal wounds that he will recover from, so no stakes to the heart, but multiple stakes to the abdomen is okay. Exceedingly more painful, but not enough to put him down permanently like a stake to the heart."

Damon led Elena over to the couch and waited for her to sit before he joined her and said, "And what happens when it's complete?"

"We find the witch." Klaus answered.

"And she does what? Breaks the bond, makes me human again?" Elena asked.

"Well, yes if that's what you want. It's certainly what Stefan wants."

"What if I don't? What if I don't want to break the bond." Elena asked.

"I'm not sure Stefan's going to accept that." Klaus said.

"Well, he may not have a choice." Damon offered.

"Maybe not, but he's going to try no matter what I want." Elena said.

"Then so be it. Elena, we'll deal with it when it happens, okay?" Damon said as he brushed her hair behind her ear and watched her nod.

Damon had tried to sound uncertain in Klaus' presence since they both knew there was a way to keep them from ever breaking the bond, but neither of them was too keen on Jeremy paying for his little disclosure.

"Well, if you two don't mind, I'm going to go check on our hunter. Perhaps he's recovered from your earlier fit of temper." Klaus said as he looked between the two of them.

Damon took Elena's hand and led her out to the car, once she was safely inside he ran around the front and got behind the wheel. When he got to the end of the drive, Elena looked at him and said, "Go left."

He looked at Elena with a questioning gaze, "Where are we going?"

"Just drive. I'll tell you when we get there." She smiled.

TVDTVDTVDTVDTVD

An hour and half later they arrived at the Gilbert family lake house. As they stepped out of the car, Elena held out her hand and asked Damon for his cell phone. He handed it over and watched as she turned it off and stuck it in the glove compartment along with her own before pushing him back against the car and kissing him senseless.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to seduce me Princess." Damon whispered when she moved to his neck.

"Oh, you do know better, and I am trying to seduce you. Is it working?" She asked with a knowing smile.

"Your particular brand of seduction has been working on me since the day I met you." He said as he took her hand and led her into the house.

"What are we doing?" She asked as he moved around the great room lighting candles.

"Elena, I need to talk to you before we do this." Damon said as he started a fire stalling just a bit longer as he tried to force himself to spit out his next statement.

"I can't believe I'm doing this, but...are you sure that you want this? I mean what if there's a chance that you could have a life. Kids. A Family. Do you really want to give all that up for this? For me?"

"No." She said as she watched the disappointment bloom.

"I want to give it up for us. Maybe I could have all of those things, Damon, but my kids wouldn't have brilliant blue eyes, and my husband wouldn't have your sexy smirk...I don't want that life, because it would be a life without you in it." She said as she stood and walked over to his side.

"I love you Damon, and I don't want a life that you won't be a part of." She said with finality as she slid her fingertips beneath the collar of his shirt.

In an instant, his lips were on hers as his hands fell to her hips pulling close. He groaned as her fingers grazed his scalp making him shudder as pleasure coursed through his body. The fire ignited in an instant and all of a sudden he felt himself being drawn in. The pull he felt was nearly gravitational as tried to bring her even closer.

"You're sure?" He whispered.

Her answer came silently, as she tore open his shirt scattering buttons to the floor before he found his back flush against the wall beside the fire, its heat couldn't even compare to the inferno that pulsed between them.

Elena took a tiny step back allowing just enough space for her fingers to scrape over the planes of his stomach. When she heard the slight intake of his breath, her eyes snapped up to his transfixed by his crystal blue stare.

In an instant, the tables were turned as she found herself pinned beneath Damon on the couch. His left hand guiding her leg up to his hip as he leaned into their kiss.

Their mingled breaths hung in the air as Damon kissed his way down from her earlobe to the hollow at the base of her throat.

"God, Elena do you have any idea how good you taste?" He wondered as he continued to take in every inch of exposed skin barely grazing her flesh with teeth and tongue.

When that wasn't enough, his fingers carefully slipped the buttons free and allowed her shirt to pool around her shoulders.

He let go of a shudder as he took in the luminous sheen of her skin under the flickering light the flames provided, her chest rose and fell with each labored breath as her heated gaze burned through any doubts that lingered between them.

"Damon." She whispered as she pulled him down and into a scorching kiss.

A growl rumbled through him as he allowed his chest to press flush against her feeling the lace of her bra abrade his overly sensitive skin.

A second later, his careful removal of her clothing went out the window with the sound of fabric tearing just before her skirt landed on the floor beside them taking his breath with it as his gaze landed on the black lace that barely covered the curves of her hips and breasts.

Damon lifted Elena from the couch as she wrapped her legs around his hips and pressed her lips firmly beneath his ear. He carried her easily to the bed and set her down as he lit candles on every surface before returning to her and pressing his lips to her collarbone.

Elena moaned and let her head fall back against the pillows as he kissed his way down to the center of her chest with his eyes still locked on her beautiful face.

Damon felt a tingle of pleasure against his skin as though her lips had touched him while he kissed her breastbone.

A hum of approval fell from her lips as he let his tongue lave her sensitive skin before letting his attention move down her torso to the curve of her hip.

"Please, Damon." She exhaled before she pushed him back and climbed over him pushing the tattered remains of his shirt off his shoulders and letting it fly across the room before letting her fingernails glide over his chest eliciting a deep shuddering moan from Damon.

A moan that only got louder as her lips fell to his chest before tracing the lines and ridges to the waist band of his jeans. Her fingers slipped the buttons free, and a moment later they joined the scraps of his previously discarded shirt leaving him in only a pair of black boxer briefs.

Elena took a moment to appreciate the perfection of the man before her, taking a deep breath and removing his last article of clothing. As soon as he kicked free of his shorts, Damon turned so that she was beneath him again as he let his fingers drift softly up her rib cage. His eyes held hers as he placed a kiss just to the left of her hip bone inhaling the scent of her surrounding him.

"So beautiful." He whispered as his fingers released the clasp on her bra and peeled it away from her flesh. Moments later her panties landed beside it on the floor.

Damon felt every inch of her skin as he crawled forward placing random kisses as he went until he was kissing her neck, then sucking gently on her earlobe before finally staring into her eyes and wrapping his fingers gently around hers.

His whole body shook as he pressed it firmly against her, they reveled in the intoxicating pull that wrapped around them as they breathed in heated air that crackled around them.

Elena looked into Damon's eyes as her fingers traveled down the notches of his spine, pulling him closer still as she slung a leg over his hip.

His eyes nearly rolled back in his head as he felt the contact from his head to his toes.

Damon took a trembling breath as he brushed her hair back from her face and stared into her eyes looking for any indication that she might have a single doubt, but her smile pierced through that thought and made his heart trip in his chest.

"I love you Elena." Damon whispered as he finally shoved all thoughts of what she would be giving up aside and gave into the desire that arced between them.

In that one instant, lightning flashed and crackled outside shaking everything around them before a heavy rain started to fall.

Little shocks rippled between them as they stared into each other's eyes and fell into a steady rhythm. Their eyes never losing contact as the storm raged outside.

Damon softly pressed his lips to her breastbone as he tried to keep a tight hold on his control, but the lure of her body against his was making it very near impossible. Her finger nails scraping his skin as his movements became erratic weren't helping as he felt each one pierce through his flesh leaving him quivering as desire spilled from every pore in his body.

"God, Elena. So good." He muttered as he allowed her to take him to his back hovering over him for a moment before he felt her slide down his body stopping as her breath shifted the fine hairs that travel from his navel down.

Anticipation crept over him until he felt the silk of her hair brush against his thighs moments before she enveloped him in the wet heat of her mouth, nearly sending him over the edge without her.

His hands fisted in the sheets as the fabric tore under his grasp and a growl fell from his parted lips chased only by her name, "Elena." He gasped.

Her fingernails scraped over his hips as she held on to him, taking in everything he had as he watched her with heavy lidded eyes. The sight was intoxicating and overwhelming as he took in the way her hair fell against his skin until he felt her eyes on his.

A moan vibrated outward from her chest leaving him on the brink as he pulled her forward to straddle his hips and he sat up to meet her. She followed his lead as she sank down onto him generating an aching need for release coursing urgently between them.

"Oh god, Damon." She whispered as she threw her head back allowing him to penetrate even deeper still.

"Fuck!" He shouted as he felt the coil of pleasure contract, while he tried to cling desperately to the last threads of his control.

With that one word, something snapped into place for Elena who immediately shuddered as her walls tightened in a vice like grip around him. Damon immediately laid his hands on her hips as he guided her motions into a faster rhythm that quickly had him throwing his head back in anticipation.

The heavy wooden headboard creaked as though it were made of kindling when he flipped her back against the pillows and began to move with a new urgency as she cried out in ecstasy, "Damon, Damon please I can't take it anymore!"

With that, the lightning crackled and lit up the night sky like fireworks as she sunk her teeth into his shoulder causing the tight cords of Damon's control to snap, as he in turn laved her neck just before his teeth punctured her flesh.

Pleasured moans filled the air as the two lovers writhed against each other reveling in the bliss that wrapped around them. Electricity pulsed between them as unneeded air rushed from their lungs, and the taste of each other's blood clung to their lips as they kissed softly until they finally heard the storm recede off into the distance.

Damon leaned back against the pillows as his fingers grazed over her stomach causing her to shiver slightly and curl up into his side.

"I love you, Damon." She whispered sleepily.

"I love you, too." He responded as he pulled the blankets up around their shoulders and closed his eyes.

Well, I hope that it was worth the wait :) Consider them unbreakable...Now what do you think will happen when Stefan finds out? How about Klaus and Jeremy? And is there still more to this bond than they know. Perhaps the witch can shed some light on that once Connor has completed his mark...What did you think?

I had wanted to add a little more to the chapter, but it ended up being a whole heck of a lot more involved than I initially intended, so I will try to update again tonight or tomorrow if I can :) Thanks again for sticking with me and all of the incredible feedback I've been getting from you!

xoxo Livia

I'm pretty sure these two could set the sheets on fire, so don't expect this to be an all out sappy love fest when they hit the bedroom (or anyplace else for that matter...wink, wink).