Damon's heart slowed as he watched Elena run into Jeremy's arms. He quietly watched as they held each other and cried. Since his face was sooty, Damon could only assume that Jeremy had been in the house when it had caught fire. Thank God the kid had gotten out in time. Elena would have been devastated if she'd lost her brother. And Damon had to admit that he would've missed the kid too.

"Jeremy, where's Ric?" Damon asked.

"Right here." Alaric walked up to them, sending another wave of relief through Damon. "Jeremy was upstairs asleep. I managed to get him out before it got too bad."

"What the hell happened?" Damon watched as the firefighters' hoses doused the flames that were flaring through the downstairs windows.

"I was in the kitchen when something came crashing through the window. Flames exploded. Suddenly everything was on fire. I think something came through the living room window too. The fire was everywhere all at once."

"Shit."

Damon couldn't help but think that if this had happened this morning, Elena would have been inside. And Bonnie's spell would have prevented her from leaving. Bonnie hadn't been here. Elena would have died.

Marissa. It had to be. It was too much of a coincidence that this happened right after she showed up in Mystic Falls. Damon decided right then and there that the next time he saw Marissa he was going to kill that bitch. She'd finally pushed him past his limit. He didn't care that he'd once loved her, or that he felt some type of responsibility for turning her into the monster she was now.

Damon was going to kill Marissa the next time he laid eyes on her.

The ringing of his phone pulled Damon to attention. He pulled it from his pocket and was surprised to see Katherine's phone number on the screen. What the hell did she want now?

"I'm busy. What do you want?" He walked away from the noise of the crowd and the water hoses.

"Damon, tell me Elena is okay." Katherine hissed.

"Why do you care? You hate her."

"I'm not kidding Damon. If that bitch Marissa hurt Elena I am going to kick her ass myself."

Confused, Damon glanced at Elena. What had he missed when he'd run off? Had Katherine and Elena bonded or something? What were they, BFFs now?

"Regardless of how I feel about Elena, she is my kin. And if that psycho bitch thinks she just waltz into town and attack my family she's mistaken."

"Oh, I get it. Stefan must have told you about his history with her so you're just looking for a reason to stake her ass." Damon laughed. "Is Klaus not keeping you busy enough, Kat?"

"Damon, just tell me if Elena is hurt."

"She's fine. She was with me at the Grill." The phone clicked in his ear. Scowling, Damon put it back in his pocket.

"Hey." Elena walked up and wrapped her arms around his waist, their fight instantly forgotten. "Who was on the phone?"

"Katherine." Damon felt her stiffen. "Apparently news of the fire has spread. She was checking on you to make sure you weren't hurt."

"That's all she said?"

"Yes." When she relaxed, he cupped her chin to look at her face. "What happened between you two while I was gone?"

"We talked. She claimed to not hate me. Blah blah blah. I just don't trust her."

While he had the feeling that she was not telling him everything, Damon decided to let it slide. After all they were watching her house burn, which reminded him that they needed to find Elena and Jeremy a new place to stay.

"I think you should stay at Bonnie's," he said.

"No way!" She shook her head. "I'm staying with you. Bonnie will never invite you in. She hasn't even invited Caroline in because she's a vampire."

"That's the point Elena. You need to be where vampires can't get to you."

"Not happening Damon. I refuse to be separated from you again. I can't stand it. We can all stay at your house together." She elbowed him. "Besides, it is still in my name."

Damon knew he was going to have to tell Elena all about Marissa. The whole sick, sordid story. But right now they had to deal with the mess in front of them. He held Elena as they watched the firefighters battle the burning house.

Sitting in the living room of the Salvatore house, Elena looked up from the book she was reading at the sound of the floor creaking above her. Frowning, she wondered who had come back into the house. They were all outside checking around the house to make sure there were no vampires on the prowl. Jeremy and Bonnie had gone to the store to buy some food since Damon's supply was extremely limited.

Realizing that the noise was coming from Damon's room, she smiled. She quickly got up and made her way quietly up the stairs. As she neared the top of the stairs, she heard whispering voices coming from Stefan's bedroom. No one was supposed to be in his room. Ignoring the warning bells suddenly ringing in her head, Elena peered through the crack in the door. Her heart lurched in her chest at the sight of Stefan and Katherine having sex in his bed.

Although she'd thought she'd accepted the fact that they were together now, Elena couldn't stop the stab of betrayal that pierced her heart. How could Stefan have left her behind to run off to be with Katherine? The rejection still burned in Elena.

Turning away from Stefan's room, Elena pushed the door to Damon's room open. The sight of Damon and Marissa locked in a tangled, sweaty embrace in his bed made her stumble back into the hallway.

"Elena!"

Chest heaving, stomach churning, Elena bolted upright in Damon's bed. She looked at Damon as she wiped her hair out of her sweaty face. The image of him in bed with Marissa replayed her mind. He leaned over to kiss her cheek but she pulled away from him. She got out of the bed and trotted into his bathroom on shaky legs, barely making it to the toilet before she threw up.

Once her stomach stopped heaving, she went to the sink and turned on the tap. Splashing cold water on her clammy face, she tried to push the images of Stefan and Katherine and Damon and Marissa out of her mind. After she dried her face with the hand towel on the counter, Elena caught Damon's gaze in the giant mirror.

"When was the last time you ate anything?" His voice was full of concern.

"It's okay, Damon." Elena smiled weakly. "I just had a bad dream. And it's been a stressful few days."

Shaking his head, he said, "I know it has, but you still need to eat. It might make you feel better. I'm getting you some food."

She walked past him and crawled back into bed. It had been two days since her house had burned down. They had all moved into the Salvatore house, except for Tyler because Damon refused to let a werewolf stay in his house (not to mention the fact that Tyler was apparently the one responsible for feeding Marissa information), and the constant worry about intruders was starting to take its toll on everyone. Bonnie and Jeremy were fighting. Caroline was snippy as hell. Alaric was grumpy and restless. And now Elena felt like she was coming down with the flu. She'd felt like shit all day.

And then the nightmare hadn't helped. She understood the part about Damon and Marissa, especially since Damon had explained the whole twisted story to her. It still pissed her off when she thought about the control that bitch exerted over Damon by taking advantage of his insecurities. But why was she dreaming about Stefan and Katherine? She thought she'd gotten past that. They were together and she and Damon were together. So why had seeing Stefan with Katherine in her dream upset her so much?

"Here." Damon held out a plate of crackers and grapes and a can of ginger ale. "You need something on your stomach. That's the second time you've thrown up today. Eat."

Sighing, Elena took a sip of the ginger ale. As Damon watched, she popped a cracker into her mouth.

"Want to talk about your nightmare?"

"Not really."

"Let me guess. Me and Marissa?" When she looked at him he laughed. "Don't look so shocked. It makes sense. It even explains the throwing up. She makes me feel like too sometimes."

"Damon, it's not funny." How could he joke about Marissa? She was evil. And she had to admit that it bothered her that he hadn't killed Marissa by now. Did that mean that on some deeper level he still cared about her?

His face sobered. "Elena, what did you do with the necklace Stefan gave you?"

"I took it off when you gave me this one." She grasped the cameo around her neck. "I put it in my jewelry box. Why?"

"So it burned in the fire."

Vervain. Stefan's necklace had been infused with vervain to protect her from vampire compulsion. How could she have been so stupid? She'd been walking around unprotected.

"You think Marissa is causing the nightmares? She can do that, can't she?"

Damon nodded. "She's been trying to get inside my head too. We need to get you some vervain. I'll be right back."

He left the room, leaving Elena alone with her thoughts. While she didn't want to think about her any more, Marissa's face kept floating into her mind. She really was evil. And from what Damon had told her, Marissa did sound a lot worse than Katherine.

By telling Marissa about what had happened with Katherine Damon had inadvertently given Marissa power over himself. Marissa knew that the one way to screw with Damon's head was by using his insecurity over Stefan and Katherine. And she used it to her full potential to make Damon do whatever she wanted. In combination with her flamboyant sex appeal, poor Damon had never stood a chance.

"Fucking bitch," Elena muttered.