8:14 AM

Elena's arms were peppered in goosebumps. Chills raced through her at lightning speed. The only combatant to her sudden cold was the hand briskly rubbing her bare shoulder.

She figured Damon would be hurt when she broke things off with him but to compare her to Katherine was something else. He had basically accused her of breaking one bond before moving on to another, all in her own self-interest. He had said she was no better than a woman he had once referred to as a 'psychotic evil vampire slut'.

She opened her eyes slowly to see that 'her room' had been cleared out in the few seconds she had taken to break. Only she remained in the warm embrace of Elijah.

He held her to his chest and carefully maneuvered her to sit beside him on the edge of the bed all the while reassuring her that she was nothing like Katherine. His words fell on deaf ears, but his presence was calming.

"Where did he go?" She didn't bother to specify who. She didn't have to; Elijah was well aware of the person she was talking about. Her harsh glare at the space she had last seen him occupy would have given her away to anyone.

"I broke his neck and Niklaus took him downstairs," his grip tightened around her shoulders. He released her immediately when she hissed in pain.

"Elena?"

Elena leaned forward and gasped as the pain bloomed through her back. She pressed her lips together and bit back a moan when fire licked across her rib cage. Every breath sent a sharp pain through her chest.

"Did I hurt you?" Elijah leaned forward and placed his hand on the small of her towel clad back. He hadn't thought he had squeezed her that hard, it had been a long time since he'd lost control over his own strength. "Elena?"

"No," she ground out, "not you." She exhaled sharply. "Damon pinned me to the wall. I guess I was too concerned with Miranda to notice."

Elijah leaned back and gently moved her hair over her shoulder. His jaw clenched tightly when he saw her mottled skin. Dark bruises marred her normally flawless olive complexion. His fingers ghosted over the exposed skin at the top of the towel.

"What are you doing?" Elena's breath caught when his knuckles brushed over her spine. An entirely different fire settled under her skin at his touch. A flush crept up her neck when he lowered the towel. The damp material slipped from her grasp and pooled around her hips.

She inhaled when his fingers traced a path over her ribs down to the small of her back. "Elijah?"

White hot rage bubbled up in his stomach. He wanted to eviscerate Damon Salvatore. If he had known of Elena's injuries he doubted he would have taken the time to ensure Miranda's eyes were turned away before he had stricken. Her back was quickly turning black and blue. Elijah forced himself to calm down when her laboured breathing penetrated the rapid pounding of his own heart.

"Elena," he carefully guided her back into an upright position, "you appear to have several broken ribs," he caught the slight wheeze in her breath and frowned, "and possibly a punctured lung."

"So a typical Tuesday in Mystic Falls?" Elena coughed.

Elijah lifted her chin and met her slightly dazed eyes. He wanted to tell her she was being ridiculous, but the sad truth was that physical injuries were practically a weekly occurrence for her. "You shouldn't joke," he frowned.

"Well my other option is to embrace the reality that I am nothing more than a fragile human," she wasn't sure whether to be flattered or offended that his eyes never left her face, "and that reality is terrifying. Forgive me if I choose to joke. So what's my prognosis Doc?"

"You have a few options," he sighed. "I can take you to the hospital, or I can heal you right now?"

Elena couldn't stop the small laugh that bubbled up and over. "This is a first."

"What is a first, Elena?" His eyes narrowed in confusion. Each laboured breath and wince of pain was a stab to his heart.

"You're the first vampire to actually ask if I wanted blood or not," her nose crinkled in pain, "Stefan, Damon, even Caroline would have forced their wrist in my mouth by now."

"Does that mean you would prefer the hospital?"

"No," she shivered and shook her head quickly, "I do not want to go to the hospital. Will you heal me please, and maybe close those doors I'm very cold?" Elena blinked when he disappeared. She heard the click of the doors and saw him settle in front of her again.

Elijah brought his wrist to his lips. His fangs descended and broke the skin. Using his right arm to steady her trembling spine he lifted his bloody wrist to Elena's mouth. He bit back a low groan when her lips parted to take a long pull of his blood; her slim fingers curled around his hand for leverage and sent shockwaves up his arm.

When her mouth lifted from his wrist a moment later he leaned back and watched in satisfaction as the bruises quickly faded leaving her skin flawless once more.

Elena turned her head to meet his eyes. A strange sense of euphoria had settled over her when his blood entered her system. It was something she had never experienced before in the wake of vampire blood. She found herself getting lost in his dark eyes. His thumb wiping a drop of blood from the corner of her mouth snapped her from her catatonic state.

Goosebumps rose on her arms when his eyes darted to her slightly parted lips.

Her eyes dropped to his bare chest. "Were you sleeping?" She whispered.

"I was," his fingers threaded into her wet curls, "I woke up when I heard you scream."

"Sorry," she murmured, "I didn't mean to wake you."

"If you hadn't you might have been worse off."

During the short exchange they had moved marginally closer together until their mouths were less than an inch apart.

"It's a good thing you woke up then," her eyes drifted closed when his lips brushed gently over hers. She lifted her hand to grasp the back of his neck.

Elena sighed when his hand splayed across her lower back and pulled her flush against him. She broke away first when the need to breathe became an issue.

"Elijah?" She murmured when his lips started tracing a path to her ear. She chewed her lip and took a ragged breath causing her breasts to scrape deliciously against his chest.

It wasn't that she was overly opposed to their current predicament; it was just that things were poised to move very fast and she was feeling a little exposed. "Elijah," she repeated.

"Elena," he returned. He had caught the halting tone in her voice, the note that said please stop, and pulled back from her far enough to see her lidded eyes.

The combined scent of his blood rushing through her veins and the arousal pooling between her thighs was getting to his head. He held his breath to clear his mind and rested his forehead against hers. "Is something wrong?"

Elena debated the merits of telling him. Considering how closely their bodies were now pressed there was no way he didn't know.

"I-I'm naked."

"I know."

She blushed when she felt the deep chuckle rumble through him. "It's not funny."

"I know I'm sorry," he composed himself. "If it makes you feel any better," his hand snaked between them and lifted the edges of her towel, "I haven't looked beyond your back."

"I'm not sure if that helps or not," she tilted her head and toyed with the hair at the nape of his neck.

His hands stilled from lifting the towel. "Would you prefer I look?" He smirked. Elijah was just beginning to move back so he could leave some space between them when there was a knock on the door. He'd barely secured the towel around her chest when Klaus poked his head in.

"Sorry to interrupt," the grin on his face said he was anything but. "Your daughter wants you, Elena." His blue eyes darted between the couple perched on the edge of the bed.

"I'll be down in a minute," Elena's eyes fell to the rumpled bed spread.

Elijah glared at his brother when he made no move to exit the room.

"I'll leave you to get dressed," Elijah cleared his throat. He made a mental note to punish his brother later for daring to interrupt. He stood up when she nodded and left her room stopping only to grip Niklaus' elbow and force him into the hall.

"Ouch," Klaus smirked when the door was shut behind them. "Are you going to tear into me for interrupting?"

"If it had been for any other reason yes," Elijah flexed his wrist. His lips twisted into a tight smile when he heard the snap. "However, since it was for Miranda, I'll let it slide this time."

"Sounds fair," Klaus nodded. "I assume you will be having words with the elder Salvatore, brother."

"I'd like to speak with Elena first and find out how she wishes to proceed," Elijah started after his younger brother down the hall towards his own bedroom.

"You were in her room long enough," Klaus remarked, "I would have assumed you had discussed that. Whatever you do," his gaze darted down to Elijah's pajama pants as he reset his arm, "you may want to take care of that first."