"Ha! I should write romance novels!" Klaus laughed at them both in such a playful but sick way.
But in an instant the grin turned to a glare. This was not working. He was done waiting. "Say goodbye to Romeo, Elena." he smirked again and with a sharp jerk, Damon's body collapsed to the porch!
"DAMON!" Elena screamed as her mouth hung open in disbelief.
Stefan blinked, once, twice not believing what he saw. NO! Was his inner scream and he heard Elena's ear piercing wail. It was as if time had frozen and Stefan was watching his brother's body fall in slow motion. He was sure that Klaus was still holding his heart and that when Damon was not in the way... he would see his heart pulsing in the Originals hand.
But to his utter relief Klaus' hands were empty and his eyes shot back to Damon's… Oh thank God, he was still breathing!
"Fooled you!" Klaus laughed again gleefully, his eyes dancing with amusement. But Stefan's relief was short lived as he spun Damon around and knelt over him, his fingers clenching as he plunged them through his skin and gripped his heart again! "Let go of her Stefan, or your brother is dead. We can all see what she is choosing. Let...her...choose!"
"No!' Damon moaned. "Don't brother. Stay strong." He moaned weakly, his ocean blue eyes so pale and glass like. Like the light was fading from them slowly as he felt his heart fighting so hard to keep pumping; to keep him here with her. He could not lose her. But she could not go outside and he would rather die than for Klaus to get his hands on her.
He could not even lift his head from where he was to see her once last time. He shut his eyes bracing for the pain of his heart being ripped out.
But suddenly he felt a huge wind above him and when he opened his eyes Klaus was no where near him. He turned his head to the sounds of grunting and crashing and saw Elijah fighting his brother! Elijah had saved his life!
He felt arms under his and looked up behind him to see Stefan pulling him across the porch and through the door. They were all safe at last!
Elena was on him in a second. "Damon, Oh God! I.. I. You thought you died!" she sobbed and wrapped her arms around him.
He looked up into her eyes and smiled. "You are not getting rid of me that easily, angel." He had not died that was true but as hard as she was squeezing him, he was not sure if Elena would strangle him to death herself.
He felt her pressing his head against hers, her arms vice like around his neck. "Easy there sweetness. I can hardly breath." He tried to chuckle at her shocked expression and ended up coughing instead as she instantly let go of him. He pulled her close, burying his head in her hair and leaning on her shoulder. "I didn't say let go, just not so tight. I'm okay, baby. I'm right here." He lay in her lap, his breath heaving out of him.
Stefan was standing in the doorway watching Klaus and Elijah fight. He saw Caroline starting to wake up and he rushed out again and dragged her nearly limp body toward the door.
"Elena, let her in" Stefan called out and he heard her voice from in the cabin calling out to them. He stepped quickly through the doorway feeling no resistance anymore and laid her gently on the floor.
Caroline's eyes started opening and she looked around. She saw a blur of Nic flying past the doorway and she sat up fast, feeling a rush of pressure in her head from the fast movement. She lifted herself up and stood at the doorway. Part of her wanted to race back outside and help Nic.
She turned back behind her seeing that Elena was still safe in the cabin and she saw Damon laying in her arms a few feet away. They were wrapped around each other and she could hear soft whispered promises between them. So they were a thing now? This was news to her. But so much had changed for her too.
She turned back forward and saw Nic fighting another man outside and they were glaring at each other, their arms locked on the others and then they flew apart thrown back from the momentum. Was that other man a vampire too? He had to be. But she was still so scared for Nic. She flinched as she saw him thrown across the yard again.
Elijah had just tossed Klaus across the driveway slamming him into a tree and he sped away heading for the cabin. There had been no words exchanged between them. Only raw and powerful anger. He smashed into the door. "Elena! Let me in!"
Elena jerked back as he crashed into the invisible door. "Come in Elijah!" She did not waste a second. He fell through the door and the next second Klaus slammed into it too.
Everyone audibly gasped seeing the all powerful vampire pressed against the magic barrier. Elena had backed up, her arms clutching at Damon from around his back and curling into him.
She drew in a deep breath as she watched Klaus, slam into it again. But it was no use. The seal held. She hung her head in exhaustion and leaned into the crook of Damon's neck as they lay on the floor. They were both not even a foot from the door but even an inch away they would still be safe. He was not getting in. Not without her invitation. And he had no more bargaining chips.
Caroline just stood there sadly, thinking she was on the wrong side of the door. She wanted to calm him, to hold him and help him right now. Instead all she did was lift her hand up to the door and reached out for him. He reached back at first, just as sad as he stared at her and he breathed her name.
But then his demeanor changed and he glared at all of them, slammed his fist into the wall beside the door. "This isn't over...brother!" he snarled banging his fist on the magic wall one more time. "None of you will ever defeat me!" And then he was gone, racing through the curtain of rain without another word.
Damon backed him and Elena up further away from the door and he had felt her trembling as Klaus had been crashing himself into the doorway. Once he was gone he turned to her.
"Elena. It's okay. I'm here. We are safe baby." He looked at her with a sad but pouty look and opened his arms to her. "Come here." Her eyes snapped up to his and she climbed into his lap on the floor and just lay against his strong chest. He rubbed her back up and down, his cheek against the top of her head. "It's going to be okay Lanie. I'm not going to let him take you. Ever." He felt her arms tighten around his waist and he kissed the top of her head and he was just so fucking glad he was alive and she was in his arms.
Stefan saw his brother and her cuddled up on the floor and he finally let out a deep breath. She was safe, no one had died and thank God Klaus had left, at least for now. He looked at Damon and his brother caught his gaze. Stefan knew he was losing her, in more ways than one but he was so glad she had Damon. He knew he should tell him what was happening to him. He needed to tell him that he didn't have long left. But now really didn't seem like the time.
Then he heard soft crying and he whirled toward the sound. Caroline had sunk down and curled up on the floor by the door, her eyes fixated outside into the rain. He walked over to her and sat down beside her putting a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, you okay?"
She sniffled and practically laughed. "No, I'm not. But you guys will probably think I'm insane."
Stefan lifted his eyebrows not understanding her.
"I think I have feelings for him, for Nic..." She buried her head in her hands that were resting on her knees. "How crazy is that?" She looked back up at him as a tear slipped down her cheek. "I mean seriously...I watched him take Jeremy, and hurt Bonnie at The Grill tonight and some stupid part of me still cares about him."
Elena's head snapped up. "Jeremy!" She had totally forgotten about her brother with everything that was going on. She lifted her head, pulled down on his chin and pressed her lips to Damon's for just for moment as a silent promise that she would be right back. Then she untangled herself from him and crawled the few feet to where her brother was lying, partially under the broken door.
Damon stood up and sped over lifting it off of him and wedging it as best he could in the door frame.
Elena lifted Jer's head. "Jer! Hey, wake up." She shook him gently and he moaned. She let out a sigh of relief and helped him sit up. He blinked a couple times and then looked like he had focused on her face. "Lena!" I'm so glad you are okay." He reached around to put his arms around her. They held each other like that for a few moments before Jeremy broke away. "Elena, what happened? The last thing I remember was Damon storming up the steps and kicking the door in."
Damon raised an eye brow. He had done that? What the hell had happened? "Whoa, wait Jeremy. Why would I kick the door in? I've been invited in." He was proud of himself for not calling him Little Gilbert or baby or tiny anything. He had saved his life and talking down to him was not going to happen again.
Jer lifted his hand to rub his head and felt blood on the back of it. "What? Do you mean you don't remember?"
Damon shook his head and glanced at Elena as she studied him. "Nope. The last thing I remember was Klaus finding me hiding outside and kicking the shit out of me out in the rain."
Elena drew in a deep breath. So he hadn't known what he had done to her when Klaus compelled him? How would she tell him that?
Damon wore a puzzled look as his eyes darted back and forth between them. Neither of them said anything. He then shifted his gaze to Stefan who was quiet and looked away from him. "Is no one going to tell me what happened?"
He looked around the room at the rest of the group. The cabin had sure gotten full in the last hour. Katherine was standing by the fireplace, turned away from him and Elijah who had not said a word since he had been invited in.
Damon growled quietly as he leaned against the wall. No one would tell him? Elena's eyes were on the floor and he knew she must know.
Suddenly Bonnie moaned and lifted her head. Jeremy rushed to her side and knelt by the couch. He had been unconscious for so long that he had forgotten that she was still on the couch out cold too. He stroked her hair and held her one hand in his. "It's okay Bon. Elena is safe. Just rest. I'm right here." She nodded slowly to him and her eyes fell closed again.
He lifted his head and saw that Caroline was holding out a cool cloth in her hand. He smiled and took it from her and placed it on Bonnie's forehead.
Elena was sitting on the floor where Jeremy had just been and she suddenly jumped and whirled around as she felt Damon's hand on her shoulder. He frowned sadly at her wondering why she had reacted like that to him when minutes before she had been clinging to him like her life depended on it.
Elijah cleared his throat again and everyone turned toward him. "Um, Elena I think you should take some time and fill Damon in on what happened. We all need to be on the same page and we need to trust each other for us to have any chance to outsmart my brother."
"But before you do that you should probably take Stefan up to rest. He looks very weak." Elijah remembered about the bite and saw that the symptoms of it seemed to be getting worse and worse. He probably didn't have long now. And it looked like he had not told anyone about it either.
Elena had nodded to Elijah, knowing she needed to tell Damon about everything. Then she looked at Stefan and realized that he did look strangely pale. Maybe he had lost too much blood when Damon had stabbed him? His face was so white and his eyes even looked sunken in. She stood up shakily and Damon was right there to steady her.
"Stefan, are you okay? You look like hell," she said with a concerned lilt to her voice when she knelt in front of him.
He smiled at her. "I'm fine. I think Elijah is right. I think just a little sleep would help." He tried to stand up and immediately felt his brother's arms under his. They both helped him up the stairs.
Damon turned back to Caroline just before they rounded the corner out of sight. "Hey Blondie, I don't want to miss your story of why the hell Bad boy Original is acting like your little lap dog. So please hold off on sharing all the juicy details till we get back okay?" He saw her nod slowly and then look down like somehow she was embarrassed about whatever this thing was between them.
He turned back to his brother and saw Elena had her arm around his other shoulder and they both helped him up the stairs and into the bedroom.
Stefan let out a sigh as he sunk down into the pillows as they laid him down on Elena's bed. He smiled at both of them and could hardly keep his eyes open. He hadn't felt any signs of the bite for quiet awhile and maybe, just maybe he could get some rest for a bit. He felt Elena's hand on his forehead and he opened his eyes once more trying to keep his focus on the beautiful woman in front of him. Her concerned face got more and more fuzzy and then it was dark.
Elena watched him for a minute. It looked like he was asleep. She had no idea what was wrong. When she had felt his forehead he felt like he was burning up, like he was sick. That did not make any sense to her. Damon walked over to the bed from where he had been leaning against the closet and when he touched her hand, she jumped again.
His frown was back and he knelt beside her by the bed. "Okay, angel. Stefan is resting. He is okay. Now you have got to tell me what is going on with you. What happened? I need the truth." His eyes were full of sadness and confusion as he rubbed his hands over hers. "Please baby. You are acting like you are scared of me."
A/N; Sorry about all the scares. The intensity build up was necessary for what is happening next. Damon and Elena are growing closer and closer with each threat to each other and Stefan is seeing how much they love each other. It hurts him to see but he knows he is dying and he wants her to be happy. Love to hear what you think. I have lots of silent readers. Thank you all for reading. I love writing this series and am so glad I can share it with you guys!