Chapter 36. White Walls

Hours passed while her eyes remained closed and her body lay limp in a tiny cot like bed. The sound of a constant beep mixed with other computer like noises bounced through her ears as it crept in like waves of an ocean. Her senses were betraying her as she struggled to put each to the test, while only being met with the ability of some when her mind and body allowed it. She was drifting, drifting in and out of a state of sleep.

Elena knew her conscious state of mind was being altered. It was no illusion she was out of sorts, but her brain tried to wrap around how she ended up so tired and sore. Flashing lights and a roaring engine was the repeating scene playing in her head. It was fast and unpredictable. Why these two things struck her like a chord and unexpectedly happened were still rendering in her boggled mind. Fitting the pieces of the puzzle together was taking longer than she wanted. She fought every inch of herself to get back to what she was, a living and breathing healthy girl.

Through her darkened and hazy hours, she heard voices. Voices she knew belonged to faces and people she was familiar with. However, she longed for one. A voice she had not heard yet. In her own skin, she squirmed to break free.

"Caroline, promise me you won't say anything." A male voice instructed the presence of another person.

"But Stefan," she obliged.

"Please." He begged.

It was all she could make out. She recognized the names and she pictured each of them inside her head, yet she was still too weak to pry her eyes open. Her body was drifting again and the dark world she had been living in for God knows how many hours crept over her.

When she awoke, her eyesight was fuzzy as she finally tried to open them unsuccessfully. Her body was still tired and sore, but it was beginning to feel like strength was coming back. On the right side of the room sat a blonde girl, Caroline as she remembered hunched over with her hands clasped near her mouth. A man towered over her named, Stefan as he rubbed her back.

"How much longer?" She whispered.

"It takes time," he answered. "But it will work. Trust me."

"Do you know…?" Her voice trailed off.

"Alaric's got it covered." Stefan roughly replied.

Her lips pressed together and pushed apart as if she wanted to say something, but she had lost the ability to speak. It wasn't permanent. She was still in shock. Her whole body was. Despite the normalcy that tingled through her nerves, she was unable to function properly. Elena closed her eyes once more as water swelled in them and prayed.

Another wisp of darkness crawled over without warning. This time when she drifted away she had vivid memories of the cause to her current state. She twitched and moaned at the visions of fright.

A loud accelerating vehicle was approaching her, but not on a street where it belonged. This car was going off the path and driving straight toward her in the own safety of her home. The sound of it still rang in her ears while the bright lights bounced and illuminated her living room like the fourth of July. Tense and frozen, but not completely she reacted just quick enough to dodge the deadly bullet. Once contact was made she recalled every thing crumbling around her. The walls and the furniture, all once belonging to her family, all now destroyed. She fell to the ground, but not gracefully. Her body was thrown left and right and smacked hard down on the hard wood floor covered in dust and particles of who knows what. Taking the breath from her lungs, pieces of debris crushed her effortlessly like it was suppose to happen all along. Elena cried out for help, but nothing came. That's when every thing faded around her.

"It's been two hours!" A female voice rose in frustration. It awoke her promptly.

"I told you, it takes time." The response of a agitated man followed. "She'll be okay. I promise."

"I swear to God," her voice whimpered and fell. Soft sniffles and crying came on cue.

"Elena!" A troubled voice broke through the familiar ones. Panic, terror, and desperation filled the three-syllable name being called out.

"Damon," Stefan, as she remembered, spoke.

A struggle was ensuing as rustling of bodies and shoes scuffing on the floor made her want to see what the commotion was all about. Her eyes fluttered open once only to be closed abruptly. It was bright. All she saw was white and a few black figures moving around. She tried again and looked to her right. The black figures formed shapes and outlines. Faces appeared with eyes, noses, mouths, and expressions. Caught up in something they stared harshly into one another's eyes. Another person with a blonde blob on her head stood up quickly and gasped.

"She's awake!" She whispered loud enough for all to hear.

Rushing to her side, a man hovered over her and stroked her hair. "Elena? Can you hear me? Elena?" He asked in desperation much like he did when he entered the room.

Elena focused hard on her surroundings. She knew what put her here and it became clear where she was. The white walls gave it away. The beeping machine with tubes poking up from it and attached to her body was another sign. She was in the hospital.

"Honey, can you hear us?" The girl asked this time.

Caroline. It was her best friend who was close to her side as well. Her eyes swept over the faces and it clicked. Stefan. He was here too. They both had been this entire time. And Damon. He touched her and immediately she nodded her head and tears formed in her eyes.

An overwhelming understanding washed over her as she made sense of every thing now. A car had crashed into her home nearly killing her while doing it. Caroline had been upstairs while it all happened; yet she appeared without a scratch on her.

"Caroline, are you okay?!" She asked as her first words broke through.

A unanimous sigh swept over all of them and Caroline immediately tried to fight back the tears.

"I'm fine." She told her and touched her hand. "Oh, Elena…"

Scanning every inch of her best friend, she was not marked or scarred by the trauma. The only pain she wore was on her face as she gazed at her. Elena wondered what sort of appearance she was wearing at the moment. She dared to look down at her hospital gown and her bare limbs that stuck out of it. A few bandages covered her legs while some cuts on her arms were exposed. Expecting the worse she sighed and wondered what damaged had been done to the part of her she could not see, her face.

"What happened?" Her voice trembled as she asked the obvious question. She knew what, but she didn't know why.

"I was upstairs trying on the clothes you showed me and the next thing I knew the house was shaking and every thing was so loud." Caroline frantically recalled the scene. "I ran downstairs screaming your name only to find…"

A lump in her throat lodged and Stefan wrapped his arms around Caroline tight. She was shaken up and emotionally distraught by what occurred in their home. Elena was thankful it was the only sort of damage done to her. The thought of Caroline in the hospital bed next to her left her sick.

"I'm so glad you're okay." Caroline cried.

"But how?" Elena began to question even more.

"Stefan, got to you and we brought you here." She interrupted fast. Her eyes fell to the floor. "Thank God for him. Otherwise, I don't…I can't…"

"All that matters is that you're okay, Elena." Stefan said soothing Caroline.

Damon turned to glance at his brother. She caught their exchange of unspoken words as each of their nostrils flared and their irises pulsed. Thinking back on the few minutes prior to every thing falling apart, she didn't even remember seeing Stefan. Had he been lurking around the entire time? If so how did this get past him? Either way she was grateful he had been in the vicinity otherwise she could have been a dead man.

Only less than 12 hours after her tropical honeymoon and she was back into the horrifying reality she lived in.

"What about the driver?" Elena broke the silence. "Is he or she okay?"

"No." Caroline softly stated.

Sinking back into her pillow, she felt something drop in her stomach. What kind of person drives into a house at top speed? Plenty of answers could fit, but she had a funny feeling the one she was thinking of was the one that made the most sense.

Without another word, Damon rose from her bedside and closed the door to her room shut. For the first time she noticed how beaten up he appeared. His shirt was tattered and a familiar stain of blood was just below his heart. It was like déjà vu all over again seeing him like this. Rendering slowly, she knew he had been attacked.

"I'll tell you exactly what happened." Damon spoke in a dark voice.

Elena gulped.

"Katherine happened." He explained. "That bitch got to me before I could even prevent any of this."

"But you didn't know it was going to happen. No one did." Elena tried to reason with him.

A wild craze hid behind his blue eyes. "It's Katherine. It's expected from her to play dirty and I should have saw it coming. I should have known she had been spying and plotting against you and I this entire time!" Damon shouted. They all tensed hoping no staff would barge in wondering what all the commotion was about.

"Did she do this to you?" Elena sat up fast feeing the taped tubes poking into her veins and clinging to her skin tug.

Her hand reached out to the bloodstained mark on his shirt. Damon grasped her hand and brought it down. He pushed her lightly back on the pillow to rest.

"Of course she did, Elena! Who else would have?!" Damon roared. "I may have pissed off a few people the past couple of decades, but not enough for vengeance. This was Katherine's doing. The fucking bitch cornered me, here."

It was difficult to restrain her as he explained to her what had happened. Alert to the fact that Katherine was on the prowl and dangerous made her blood pressure soar. The machine hooked up to her as it began to beat in a rhythm that quickened.

"Elena, you probably should relax." Caroline advised.

The beeping broke all of there frustration with the matter and she began to breathe deeply and slowly. She saw the concern in Damon's eyes and the curiosity in Stefan's. He was watching her intently like something was about to happen; yet the only thing that was bound to occur was her having a full-blown panic attack. This was beyond her control or anyone else's. If Katherine still could get to Damon, who was just as capable of destroying her as she did to him, this meant war.

Taking Caroline's advice before she got a full on lecture from anyone else in the room, she heard the beeping slow down. Elena let every muscle in her body ease even though it was next to impossible.

"So what happened?" She asked.

"I needed blood." Damon stated. "I came here to get some and she showed up being all Katherine like. The bitch cornered me and staked me. I was too weak to fight her back."

"But you've been drinking blood this entire time. You were on the honeymoon." Elena spoke with confusion. "How could you be so weak then?"

"Because I need more than a glass a day. I need more than I'm allowing myself because I care too damn much of what will happen if I become dependent on it." Damon wallowed. "I don't want to lose control, not around you."

Elena shook her head. This conversation felt like it needed to be discussed just between the two of them and not with Stefan or Caroline in the room, but they weren't going anywhere. She glanced at them before she argued.

"You're already losing control because you're not taking care of yourself, Damon." She shouted. "I don't care if you need to drink a gallon a day or even from me. It's who you are and I've accepted that. One day I'll be just like you…"

"Trust me, you don't want to be like me." He hissed.

If there was one word to describe this tension in the hospital room, it was awkward. Caroline had her arms crossed as she bit her lower lip and looked at the floor. She knew how disapproving she was of her decision, but if was something she would have to accept because she wasn't about to back down from what she wanted. Elena wanted eternity with Damon and they had both agreed that when the time was right it would be done. But that time wasn't right now. She knew that. Stefan, on the other hand, drew in a quick breath and gulped. He was acting strange and maybe it was just discomfort. This really was something only her and Damon needed to figure out, not with them listening too.

"I'm just saying that if you need blood, drink it." Elena demanded of him. "I don't want you to be weak, not with what's going on. Not while Katherine or Klaus are around. If anything you need to build up your endurance because in the end it's the only way either of us is going to come out alive."

It was morbid to declare such a thing, but true. She had no way of defending herself. Not without a vampire or two by her side. Damon and even Stefan were highly capable of taking down Klaus as long as he stayed human. As for Katherine, teaming up was there best bet. Over indulging in blood too would help them and make them strong enough to fight and hopefully kill her because that was the only way of ending any of this. They all knew that.

"I don't want this happening again." Elena pointed to his wound. "Not to any of you. Not because of me."

"It's not…" Stefan began to speak.

"It's because of me." She spat. "We all know it. The only reason Katherine is even around or interested is because of me. And if I could I would single handedly love to stake the bitch myself, but I know I can't. I know I'm no match for her."

Damon smirked a bit.

"But you can." She directed her statement toward him. "You can kill her, Damon. I want you too. I want you to end this for good."

"What we need is to make sure you are okay and get back to resting." Caroline patted her on the shoulder.

"I feel fine." Elena snapped.

She honestly did. The more her adrenaline kicked in the more she felt like her old self. From what had happened, she expected to be a whole lot worse. She was grateful she wasn't.

"You don't need to worry about Katherine or anyone else." Damon said. "I'll take care of this. I tried to after she left, but I couldn't keep up. Then I came back to your place and saw what happened."

"And what did happen?" She asked looking to everyone.

"She might not die today, but that doesn't mean someone else will." He recited. "It's the last thing Katherine said to me before she bolted. She must have compelled the driver to drive into your house and try to kill you."

Her heart pounded at the thought.

Damon shook his head in disgust. "She knew exactly what she was doing. She can't get in. She can't go anywhere near the house, not with Stefan or myself around. So she used a scapegoat."

"She made an innocent person kill themselves just to get back at me." Elena said in awe and with fright and tears in her eyes.

"This is what I'm telling you," he said and sat down on her bed. His cold palm grazed her hand. "Katherine will do anything to get what she wants. She'll compel and kill half the town if it means she gets what she wants in the end and that's you, dead."

The situation had always been serious, but now, it was deadly. As Elena looked around the hospital room all she could see was imaginary blood splatter covering the perfect white walls. Her blood would be shed. This really did mean war. Katherine had declared it the moment she decided to send someone flying through her living room in a SVU at top speed. She was terrified and she saw it Damon's face too.

"Call Alaric." Elena spoke defiantly.

"Why?" Damon asked.

"Because he's going to teach me how to fight." She told him looking him dead in the eye. "He knows how to fight off a vampire the human way."

"You don't have to worry about fighting anyone." Damon stroked her hand. "I'll protect you."

"I know you will." Elena smiled. "But I'm not going to sit back and let myself be the victim. If I'm going to be part of this world, I need to know how to defend myself. I know I can't be as a strong as you, not yet, but it will help."

Damon puckered his lips and blinked. It was obvious he wanted her to not even consider putting herself in harms way when it had no problem of finding its way into her life without question. But at the same time, how dangerous could it be for her not to at least know a trick or too in fighting off the supernatural. She needed to learn from the best and Alaric was just that.

"Fine." He agreed. "But you need to rest first before you go throwing yourself around."

There was always a 'but' whenever he agreed with her. Compromise was becoming a critical part of their relationship.

"Okay." Elena replied. "And you need to start drinking up if you ever want to kill the bitch. I'm giving you permission."

His eyes filled with worry and trouble at the sound of her words. The human vein was a risky source, but if that's what it had to come down to then she was fine with it. She would have to be if she was going to be just like him one day. It would only hypocritical.

Reaching into his coat pocket, Damon withdrew a blood bag. He ripped the tube with his teeth and began to drink. For now it would do.

AN: Four chapters left! Thanks for sticking with this series for over a year. Last summer I started Fifty Shades of Salvatore and never thought it would evolve into a series or even such a hit with the Vampire Diaries/50 Shades of Grey fandom. You guys are the best. I promise you FSB is not the end of the series. A short story will follow, but not instantaneously. Please leave your thoughts in a review. I love to read your comments. Also, follow the FSOS series Twitter account at FSOSfansite for more news, updates, spoilers, etc. Thanks for being such loyal readers. Much love.

Ps. Don't forget to check out my NEW story, Dead Heart. I have the first chapter posted already and if you read this at a later date I'm sure more chapters will be up too. It's a tragic and twisted DE story. Go read the description and give it a chance. I would appreciate it.