AN: ahh! I am so so very sorry! High school has been really hectic. But I promise to find time to write more often! Okay. Enough of my yammering.

Stefan POV

We walk slow and tedious back to the boarding house. The worst of Damon's injuries are healed and all that remains are bruises and shallow scratches.

He doesn't complain even though his muscles are probably still sore from the spastic reactions that would have came with the torture. Of course he isn't complaining. Damon would go on and on if it were injuries he could deal with. When he isn't complaining, it's my cue to be very concerned.

I repeatedly glance at him every few minutes to try to read if he needs a break. God knows he wouldn't tell me if he did. Not in this state. He's probably sore, tired, starving and scared.

If he was his normal self, he would throw me off the roof of the boarding house just for thinking that. Badass big brother Damon never gets scared. Or so he says. I know differently. He doesn't get scared often, and, rarely ever for himself.

And, regardless to the fact that he claims he's fine, I keep an arm around his shoulders the whole way home.

We enter the boarding house to find a very frantic Elena. It's evident she has been pacing for sometime and is far past worrying herself sick.

"Stefan! Are you two alright?" She immediately runs to greet us, carful of Damon's obviously battered body.

"We will be. Seth is dead. But Damon has had a hell of a night. He needs food and ice packs. I'll start cooking and you can tend to the worst of his wounds." I reply, while I feel Damon start to sag against me as the last of adrenaline leaves him. Elena nodded and agreement and moved towards him. But she hesitates momentarily.

"Are you okay with that, Damon?" She asks tenderly to my brother. He gives a jerky nod.

"Why wouldn't I be? You're probably the only other person I trust besides Stefan. And maybe Jeremy. Why do I trust you Gilbert's so easily?" He asks the last part mostly to himself. He voice is scratchy and monotone. His eyelids are half open and he winces if he moved something wrong or too quickly. Elena nods and attempts a smile but it turns out small and uncertain. She grabs Damon's arm and walks with him to the kitchen for ice.

I walk close behind them, feeling very protective of two of the most important people in my life. My own adrenaline starts wearing off and I feel more drained than ever.

At least my brother is home an safe. For now. He's still Damon so he'll seek out trouble, consciously or unconsciously, or trouble will find a way to sink its jagged claws into him.

I let out a long sigh and refuse to think any more on the matter. For now, I'll enjoy having my brother back, I'll be there for him if has trouble coping with this weeks latest test of sanity, and I'll try to step up into his shoes for being a big brother.

I shake my head and chuckled lightly to myself. How the hell did Damon ever survive taking care of me?

We walk into the kitchen and Elena helps him sit into a chair facing her.

"Do you guys have a first aid kit?" She asked, doubtfully. I nodded.

"I got one the first week Damon was no longer older than me. It's in the upstairs bathroom." I replied in a light tone, hoping that that would make things calmer than usual for just a few moments. Elena nods and walks past me to retrieve it. I look back to Damon to see him holds his arms protectively around himself.

"How you holding up?" I ask, tentatively. He shakes his head and holds the zoned out look in his eyes.

"I honestly don't know. I'm glad he's gone but I can't help feeling guilty." He replies. I have to fight back the urge to point out that Seth doesn't deserve to feel guilty over and that he brought all of this upon himself. But I manage to bite my tongue and wait to see if my brother will continue. After a few moment he does but not as I expected. "Why do you desire to be human so badly? Forced to feel emotion and guilt. What's so amazing about it? Because where I'm sitting, all the physical and mental pain, all the guilt, every single damn emotion, it all hurts. And it sucks." He rants a bit and I sit and I do, I can't help but wonder too.

I am about to reply with a half thought out answer when Elena comes back to save me.

"I found it. It took a little looking since it wasn't specified which bathroom it was in." Elena announced, as she walked quickly over to Damon. She set to work and I walked towards the stove and twisted the dial to the appropriate heat.

"Chicken soup okay, Damon?" I ask, as if the conversation we were having before had suddenly evaporated. He just nods and sits back as Elena patches up the worst of his cuts.

I nod to myself and start throwing all the ingredients together in a pot.

I start hearing Elena trying to comfort my obviously distraught brother and I can't help smiling to myself. She really is remarkable. I continue to cook and listen to her quietly.

"You really are strong, Damon. I wouldn't have held up if I were in your shoes. Just another thing about you that no one sees I guess. I'm starting to think that before all this happened, none of us even knew you a little. Though, I am positive Stefan did, seeing as how openly caring and loving he is around you now. I was wrong about you Damon. You have so many secret redeeming qualities." she whispers to him as she grabs ice from the freezer and wraps it up in to a dish towel.

"I'm not strong, Elena. I just have faith in our Stefan." Damon replies quietly.

I wanted to drop everything and hold Damon till he felt safe again, and I nearly did, but I keep to smiling to myself and hoping with my entire being that I can make it so Damon's faith in me is in the right place.

I may not survive being the big brother, but at least chicken noodle soup can fix things a little bit better than I can.