sorry for how late and short this is. Hopefully the next chapter won't take so long and will be a lot better.

Jace was pacing in the front yard, impatiently waiting for his sister to arrive home when he got a phone call. Sighing he answered, knowing exactly who it was without even looking at the I.D. Samia was very punctual, calling around the same time, everyday, to give him an update on her progress with Damon.

"How's it going?" he asked.

"I'm running out of memories to use against him," she said, sounding irritated.

"By your tone, I have to assume he hasn't cracked."

"Affirmative, but I have an idea on how to change that."

That caught his interest and he wanted to press for details, but Tori pulled up into the drive and got out of the car. He wanted to talk to his sister and get answers on where she had been. She looked well enough, but he still wanted to have proof she was okay.

"Do it," he told Samia. "I'll call you later for details."

He hung up without waiting for her reply and grabbed Tori by the arm. He then took her straight to his office, shut the door and locked it. Then, he turned to her and took her in with a critical gaze. He was searching for anything out of place in her appearance and demeanor. Seeing nothing obvious he relaxed and sat down behind his guest. She sighed and sat down in one of the spare chairs.

"Where the hell have you been?" he asked.

"I told you," she said. "I needed space and bunked at my friend's place for a while."

.X.x.X.x.X.

Damon woke up a few days after Tori left. It wasn't a slow revival-by-levels process. No, everything went on line immediately and he opened his eyes with a fierce gasp. He looked around to find himself alone in his room. Swallowing hard, he slowly sat up. He didn't get out of bed though. He had a feeling that if he tried he would just hit the floor. He didn't need another reason to be more pathetic than he already was.

"Stef?" he asked and grimaced at the sound of his voice. Clearing his throat, he tried again. "Stefan?"

How long had he been out? His voice was shot to hell, hoarse and weak. His entire body hurt, and his head felt like a goldfish bowl on a rocking chair. It wasn't pleasant at all. He wasn't used to feeling so weak, especially while not under the influence of vervain. He needed blood. That much was obvious, and so he got to his feet but his legs gave out from under him and he hit the floor hard. A second later, his door swung open to reveal Stefan.

"Damon?"

Yeah there was no shock in his baby brother's voice at all. He scoffed at the sarcasm in his observation and then looked up at his stunned brother. It took a moment, but he finally helped Damon back into bed – well tried to. The moment Stefan touched Damon; Damon was flooded with such excruciating pain that all he could do was scream from the agony of it. The moment Stefan released him, the pain vanished and he sunk to the floor and panted as he recovered. He then looked up at his brother.

"What the hell?" he asked.

Stefan simply looked back at him, just as confused as Damon was. Damon let out a heavy sigh and sat up.