A/N: Yay for all this snow allowing me to stay home and write! I hope you enjoy this chapter. I really was not going to take this route with it, at least not this soon, but I think it needed to happen. You guys inspired me to move it along! So, as always, let me know what you think!
Thank you to all of those following me on Twitter! TVDVampireKat. I am having a lot of fun chatting with you all!
Elena felt herself begin to panic. "He doesn't have to know, Damon" Elena insisted. "Derrick left. You scared him off. He won't be back" she said, trying to calm herself down.
"Sorry, kid" Damon said, opening his car door. "Stefan's going to find out one way or another and trust me, it will be better if it comes from you" he said. He walked to Elena's side of the car and opened the door for her. Elena remained where she was for a moment before getting out of the car. She walked a few paces behind Damon, trying to decide if she could take off and outrun him. Then she remembered that she had had a rough evening and probably did not need to be physically exerting herself like that. And, it was getting dark.
Stefan opened the front door, having heard a car door slam outside. He saw Damon and then Elena. "What's going on?" he asked.
Damon waited for Elena to go ahead of him into the house before walking in. Stefan followed, confused as to what was going on. "Elena" Damon said.
Elena stopped and turned to face Stefan. She looked up and met his eyes and found him looking at her with concern. "Derrick showed up at the Grill" she said quietly.
"He what?" Stefan practically yelled, turning to face Damon. "What do you mean he showed up?" he asked angrily.
"Why are you yelling at me? I'm the one that showed up and saved the day!" Damon yelled back, clearly frustrated with his younger brother.
"And where is Derrick now?" Stefan questioned, still ignoring Elena who was standing off to the side. Her muscles were tense as she watched the two brothers arguing.
"I don't know" Damon shrugged. "I told him to stay away from Elena. He left" Damon explained.
"You just let him go?" Stefan yelled. He could not believe how stupid his brother could be sometimes. Well, he could. But he wanted to believe that Damon was smarter than that.
"What was I supposed to do with him, Stefan?" Damon asked. "Tie him up and throw him in the trunk of my car?" he asked sarcastically.
"Yes, that is exactly what you should have done!" Stefan continued yelling. "Now he's just going to come right back after her!" he spat. "You don't think, do you Damon? Were you not given that ability? He's dangerous! And you just probably pissed him off. So now we have to sit and wait for him to come back after her? Do you know what he is capable of?"
Elena could not stand in the room any longer and listen to Stefan and Damon shout at each other. Not after what she had just endured with Derrick. So many emotions were beginning to build up inside of her that she felt like she would lose it. Anger. Fear. Confusion. Sadness. And the list went on. Stefan continued to yell something at Damon and Elena used this opportunity to leave.
Damon and Stefan both turned to watch her run up the stairs. Their fighting ceased for the moment. Stefan cursed under his breath as he leaned his hands against the back of the couch. Screaming at Damon in front of her was no way to show her that he was going to protect her. It only showed her that he was feeling defeated. Damon felt uncomfortable by the silence. "If I were you, I would probably go and check on Elena" he said, throwing it out there for Stefan to consider.
This only made Stefan angrier. "No, you know what I have to do right now? Call that incompetent PI of yours to tell him he's fired!" Stefan yelled one last time before storming out of the room.
Damon heard a door slam. He figured Stefan would be preoccupied for the next half an hour or so, so he quietly climbed the stairs and went in search of Elena. It wasn't hard to find her. He could hear her sobbing in one of the guest bedrooms. When he pushed the door open, she was sitting on the floor against the bed with her knees pulled up to her chest and her face buried. Damon quietly sat down next to her. "You're not okay, are you?" he spoke softly.
Elena lifted her head slightly to look at him with her puffy red eyes. "I just want him to leave me alone" she cried softly. "Why can't he do that?" she asked sadly.
Damon sighed. "Because guys like him, they can't let go, Elena" he said. "He only knows what he knows and that is that he can control you, manipulate you, bring you down so low that you can't think for yourself" he said. Elena's sobs quieted as she listened to him, but her tears still fell. "But you have to prove to him that you're not that same girl. You're stronger now, Elena. And he can't hurt you because you won't let him" he said. "Stefan won't let him" he added. "And I won't either."
Elena suddenly looked towards Damon, taking in the idea that he would protect her too. But why? He thought she was a liar. He vowed to expose her and Stefan's fake marriage. He had been out to get her from the beginning and now, two short months later, he wanted to protect her? "Why do you care so much?" she asked. She was expecting him to answer with something like because his brother cared. Or because he owed his brother. Or because of Lily. Something along those lines.
He smiled at her and leaned in a little closer. "Because I don't like to see anyone hurt as much as Derrick has hurt you" he answered. That was not an answer she was expecting. Neither was his next move. Damon leaned in a little farther and placed a gentle, soft kiss on her lips. Before she even had time to comprehend what he was doing, he kissed her again, this time, a little more eagerly.
Her heartbeat became rapid as her brain screamed at her that this was not okay. She wasn't supposed to be kissing Damon. She wasn't Katherine. She tore her lips away from his, feeling incredibly guilty, even though he had technically kissed her and taken advantage of the situation she was in. "You can't do that" she said, turning her face away from him.
"Why not?" Damon asked. He didn't see a problem with it. He was comforting her. Something his brother was not doing.
She turned back to face him, her face suddenly angry. "Because I'm married to Stefan" she stated. Then she wanted to kick herself because that was not the right thing to say to Damon.
"Married" Damon repeated. "Not in love with him" he added, thinking over her answer.
"I do love Stefan" she quickly corrected. "My marriage means something to me" she told him, bracing herself for the next thing she was about to say. "I'm sorry you don't feel the same way about yours."
Damon's face remained unchanged, though his eyes flickered with interest. Then he laughed softly as he stood up. "Do me a favor and don't tell Stefan about this, okay?" he told her, leaving her there on the floor.
A surge of hatred ran through her. She wanted to tell Stefan. She wanted to tell him that Damon had taken advantage of her. Damon had gained her trust by defending her and now he was telling her what she couldn't do. She didn't like that. It was exactly what Derrick had done.
And was it what Stefan was doing? Using her only to control her as well? Charm her so she would fall for him and then hurt her in the end? Maybe Derrick was right. Stefan didn't care about her. He wanted access to his trust fund and he wanted sex, both things he had openly admitted wanting to her. And she had agreed to both. Was Stefan's charm and concern now merely just a way for him to keep her in the marriage and to get sex from her?
Elena clenched her fist tight. She refused to be that girl who was easily taken advantage of. She had fought so hard to get rid of her and she was not going to bring her back.
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Stefan threw his phone onto the table and kicked a chair too. The PI was not answering his phone and Stefan was not sure how many angry messages he could leave. The last one though made it perfectly clear that he was fired. He figured now he needed to find Elena.
A part of him felt guilty for not consoling her immediately. But the other part of him knew that he had been too frustrated and angry to be near her. But enough was enough. He needed to be there for her now. Slowly, he made his way up the stairs. "Elena?" he asked, checking her bedroom. He continued walking down the hallway, finally finding her in his room. Their room. "Elena?" he said, approaching her carefully.
Elena had her back turned to him as she was putting her hair up in a messy ponytail for the night. His arms snaked around her waist, locking around her firmly. His chin rested on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly.
Elena shrugged away from him, getting herself out of his arms. "I'm fine" she said, going to the dresser and pulling out a pair of pajama bottoms and a t-shirt.
He stood there, trying to decide if she was really fine, or if she was doing that thing that women do where they say they are fine, but really, they wanted him to secretly know they weren't and to talk to them. He walked back towards her again, grabbing her elbow and pulling her back into his arms. "I'm sorry I wasn't there" he said, kissing her neck. "Tell me what happened" he said, offering for her to talk about it.
Elena wanted to turn around and wrap her arms around him, encourage him to hold her tight. But that would make her weak and that would allow him to take advantage of her. "Don't worry about it" she said, shrugging away from him again. "You don't have to pretend to care" she said.
Stefan stood there for a moment, not too sure on what was going on with her. He figured that she was just upset over the night's events. "Elena …" he tried, but she was quick to cut him off.
"Stop Stefan!" she yelled, turning to face him. "Just stop" she said, exhaustion staining her voice. "I am so sick of you pretending to care about me!" she said, raising her voice once again. "Why can't you just be honest and admit that all you care about is your money and sleeping with me?" she asked, on the verge of getting tearful.
She expected him to react by getting mad and storming out. She was hoping for that, actually. But instead, he just stood there and stared at her for a long time. Finally, he spoke. "What did he say to you?" Stefan asked, his voice full of curiosity and concern.
Elena wanted to laugh. What hadn't Derrick said to her? "It doesn't matter Stefan" she told him. "I want to go to bed and forget this day ever happened" she said.
He was losing her, he realized. She was slipping away from him. Because of Derrick. But also, Stefan realized, because he was not telling her how he felt. Not directly anyways. And maybe he needed to. Maybe his hugs, his kisses, weren't enough. Maybe she needed to hear him say how he felt. Elena stood there, beginning to feel nervous. "Elena" he said, moving towards her yet again. He grabbed her clothes from her hands and tossed them on to the bed. Then he grabbed her hand. "Come with me" he said, smiling softly at her. "I want to show you something."
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Elena took note of the lightly falling snow as she held Stefan's hand and followed him out to the barn. They didn't say anything to one another as Stefan put the bridle on one of the horses. She waited for him to grab the other horse, but he never did. "Give me your leg" was all he said as he effortlessly lifted her up. Elena held on to the horse's mane tightly, fearing that she might fall off without a saddle. Before she knew it, Stefan was climbing on behind her, moving himself forward so he could hold the reins and her at the same time. He could feel how tense she was, no doubt indicating that she was nervous. "Trust me?' he asked, whispering in her ear as the horse danced a bit in place, ready to go.
Elena sighed, releasing her tight hold on the horse and leaned back into Stefan. She nodded. Stefan moved the horse forward, taking a different trail than he had taken her on before. He was careful to move around the fallen logs and low-hanging tree branches. The moment she felt like she was sliding off of the horse, she would feel Stefan tighten his grip on her and pull her back to center her. After a while, he was even able to get the horse to settle into an easy trot as they climbed what Elena thought might be one of the rocky hills that she could see out her bedroom window.
The horse eventually came to a stop and Elena looked around, seeing a small circle outlined with larger rocks. There appeared to be a fire pit in the middle. The faint trickling of water could be heard nearby. "Where are we?" Elena asked as Stefan swung down off of the horse. He held his arms out for her to get down as well.
"The back part of the property" he said, setting her down on her feet. He walked over to a shelf of rock housing a little bit of firewood and grabbed a handful to dump in the fire pit. Elena watched as he lit a match and the wood began to catch fire.
"It's beautiful" Elena said, taking a seat on one of the rocks and holding her hands out toward the flames. She realized how cold it was when she had gotten off of the horse.
Stefan added another piece of wood before joining her on the rock. "It can be a bit of a rough ride, depending on the time of the year" he said, continuing to make small talk, though he knew they needed to talk about what was really important. "I know that you want to work. To have some sort of independence while you're with me" he began.
Elena knew what he was getting at. "But you want me to quit" she guessed.
"For your safety. I just don't see another way" he spoke softly. "Derrick proved today that he can get to you, even when other people are around. We got lucky today, with Damon being there" he added.
Elena tensed at the mention of Damon. The Damon who had kissed her. "We" Elena said, avoiding the conversation around Damon. "You keep saying that."
"Well, yeah" he said. "You and me. We're kind of a team now" he said, nudging her. Elena remained silent, looking out past the fire. "Elena" he said, attempting to get her attention. "Hey" he said softly. She turned to face him, but not really sure what to say to him. Luckily, he acted first, placing his hand just on the inside of her jacket and pulling her forward, kissing her. It was a light, gentle kiss and then it was over. When her eyes opened, his were staring back at her. "Whatever Derrick said to you, it isn't true" he said quietly.
"So I'm not just some girl you have sex with and who is helping you become a millionaire?" she asked just as quietly. Although she was trying to remain emotionless as she asked, Stefan could see her fighting back her sadness that this all might be true.
He turned away from her slightly, though he kept his hand resting on her side. "That's all you were to me when I met you" he admitted.
"And now?" she asked, a little afraid to hear his response.
He turned back towards her. "And now" he said, preparing himself. "You are everything that I wanted back then" he said. "And if I still wanted that – a wife and a family, I wouldn't let you go" he admitted. Elena wasn't quite sure what all of that meant. "I care about you, Elena. And yeah, I'm falling in love with you. But what is the point in letting myself love you when I can't keep you in my life forever?" he asked her.
Elena let herself take a shaky breath, feeling a single tear run down her cheek. He had feelings for her. Maybe not concrete feelings, but they were there. And maybe now it was time for her to be honest with him. "I think I'm already in love with you" she said so quietly, he almost had to ask her to repeat herself. His eyes locked on hers for a minute, making her uneasy. Maybe she shouldn't have said anything. "Tell me what to do, Stefan. Should I stop feeling these feelings?" she asked. "Should I stop sleeping with you? Go back to staying in my own room?"
Stefan sighed. "I never expected you to fall in love with me" he admitted. She nodded. She thought it would never be possible. "I can't promise you that at the end of these six months, I'll still want to be married" he said. "And I don't want to hurt you or give you false hope."
"I don't expect you to know what you want" she told him quickly. "I'm the one breaking the rules here" she reminded him, turning away from him again.
Stefan shook his head. "No, I broke the rules first" he told her. "I let you fall in love with me. When I should have prevented it" he said honestly, causing her to look back at him. He could see that more tears had fallen. Slowly, he brought his hand up to her cheek and brushed them away. "I do know one thing, though" he told her, resting his forehead against hers so he could be as close as possible to her while still being able to look in her eyes. "I like having you in my life. And I think I want you to stay in it, whether romantically or as my friend" he smiled.
Elena nodded, smiling herself. "I'd like that" she admitted. "We've still got four months left of this marriage. Our feelings might change" she said, knowing that hers probably wouldn't, but he might decide that he wanted commitment.
"We'll decide when we get there" he said, kissing her cheek where a new tear had fallen. "In the meantime, you definitely need to keeping sleeping in my bed" he mumbled against her cheek. Elena laughed softly at his attempt to be humorous. "But right now, I need to focus on keeping you safe" he added, moving his head down to kiss the side of her mouth before finding her lips. "Because losing you now or in a few months is not an option" he added. He stopped kissing her and looked at her one last time. "You don't deserve to be tormented by him anymore, Elena" he told her. "I want you to be happy. I need you to be happy" he finished.
Elena fell against him, her arms gripping the sides of his jacket as she cried. No longer were those tears of fear. They were tears of relief. Relief that Derrick was not going to hurt her anymore. Relief that she was going to get her chance to be happy. Relief that she meant something to Stefan. "I needed to hear that. All of it" she cried softly, continuing to hold on to him.
"I know" he whispered against her hair. As they sat there in front of the growing fire, he thought about how he should have told her all of this sooner. Then he realized, in a few months, he was probably going to realize that he loved her. So maybe he should just tell her now instead of beating himself up later on for not telling her sooner. "I love you" he whispered, pulling her closer. "Hold on to that. Don't ever forget it."