Crying Lightning

Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries.

I just can't stay away!

(Sorry for the confusion, have to repost because for whatever reason it's not working)

I ended up having to speak to Sherriff Forbes separately from Elena, one reason being that she is still under the age of eighteen so she needed to wait to speak to the cops with Jenna there as her legal guardian, but I think that we got our stories together and identical. With the both of us missing out parts that could get me into trouble as we both explained exactly what happened in the warehouse, but most importantly, Kol's confession.

Unfortunately Elena had to go back to her room to top up her pain medication for her leg and then to rest, meaning that I never got to see her since her visit to my room, leaving me alone for hours on end, thinking about everything that has happened in the past couple of days.

Overnight was the worst, I could barely sleep a wink because of all the tubes attached to me, never mind the aching pain that still attacked my body. Klaus really had done a number on me.

Worse than the pain though were the nightmares, nightmares of Kol killing Katherine swirled around my sleepy brain, but most of all, it was nightmares of Elena dying, either by Klaus or Kol, each time she was shot and I couldn't do anything to stop it.

Each time she died.

Each time I woke up sweating with tears streaming down my face.

Giuseppe comes to check up on me first thing with Stefan, both of them asking basic standard questions about how I'm feeling, almost like I'm a formality, but at least Stefan did look concerned.

Giuseppe was out of the door within 30 minutes, apparently he has to take an important business call that just cannot wait, despite his eldest son lying in a hospital bed after suffering life threatening injuries.

Oh well, I prefer it when he's not here anyway.

"So uh…" Stefan mumbles out awkwardly, breaking the silent tension that has overtook my room since they arrived. "Klaus really messed you up, huh?"

I smirk at the way he shifts nervously at the bottom of my bed. "He had an unfair advantage; I had my hands and legs tied to a chair. I would have kicked his ass otherwise."

He grins slightly and shakes his head. "Sure brother, you keep telling yourself that."

I chuckle, despite the pain it causes me and let out a loud sigh. "I bet you wish you could have taken a shot at me too huh?"

"Not gonna lie, the thought of holding you hostage and torturing you has crossed my mind once or twice over the last few months." He shrugs and I let out another laugh as we fall into another silence, this one a little less awkward. "Hey Damon?" he breaks it again and I look back up at him. "I am sorry…that this happened to you."

"I know."

"I just…I know things have been…difficult, between us lately, but well…you're still my big brother."

I nod my head at him and watch as he runs his hand through his hair. "Hey Stef?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" he asks confused.

"For what I said the other week on the way to the Gilbert Cabin, I should never have told you the way I did, you didn't deserve to hear it that way and I apologize."

I watch as he bites on his bottom lip and turns his head away. "A part of me is still wondering if you made it up to hurt me."

"I'd never do that; I'd never lie about Mom to hurt you. Look, I'm not trying to turn you against Dad, I promise that I'm not because he has always done right by you, but I just wanted you to know the truth. There's a reason we don't get along, Stefan, and despite what you once thought, it's not just because I was a rebellious teen trying to piss him off just because I had nothing else better to do."

"I know." He gulps slightly before turning back to face me, looking at me directly in the eye. "I'm not…" he trails off, almost like he is stuttering. "I can't remember like you can, Damon." He admits. "How about we just agree to disagree for now?"

I nod my head slowly and hold out my fist, watching as he rolls his eyes but bumps his own against it anyway. "I think I can manage to call a temporary truce?"

"Temporary huh? Why? You afraid I'm going to kick your ass?"

"Well, I do have an unfair advantage right now. I have to have nurses help me use the bathroom baby bro."

He lets out a loud laugh and shakes his head. "Nice."

I shrug amused and we share a chuckle between us and it's weird because we haven't had a moment like this in a long time, even before Elena happened.

It doesn't last long though because my hospital door swings open and we are greeted by the sight of Rebekah storming into my room, her eyes red and her cheeks stained with tears.

"Where are my brothers?!" she shouts at me, her voice loud but shaky.

"Hey, you can't just walk in here like this!" Stefan moves in front of her before she reaches my bed, and I swear if she didn't, she probably would have added to me list of injuries.

"Get out of my way, Stefan!" she orders him but my brother doesn't move so she resolves to look past him over his shoulder. "Tell me!"

"I don't know." I tell her honestly.

"You're lying!"

"What the hell do you think I've managed to do, Rebekah?" I ask her in disbelief. "Look at me! I'm a mess, because of your brothers! Do you really think I've managed to do something to them in this state? I can barely walk!"

She shakes her head at me, fresh tears falling from her eyes. "I don't know what the hell you've done, Damon, or how, but you don't fool me! And what you told the police? About it being Kol who killed Katherine?! I know you're lying! It's Kol, he wouldn't do that! He couldn't do that!"

"It's the truth!" I argue immediately.

"No. You know Damon…I actually believed you when you told me it was Klaus who killed Katherine, because I know my brother and I know that if pushed, he could do something like that, but Kol? No…no way in hell, now I know you're lying!"

"I really don't care if you don't believe me, Rebekah, but it's the truth! Ask yourself this, where is Klaus right now? Because I'm guessing he's somewhere beating Kol's ass, and you know what, for once I'm actually rooting for him! I hope he gives Kol exactly what he deserves then I hope he rots inside a cold rotten jail cell for it!"

"You bastard!" she screams at me and goes to charge past Stefan but he holds her back.

"That's enough!" he warns her. "If you don't leave now I'm going to shout for security."

Rebekah however surprises us both and lets out a loud sob before leaning her head against my brother's chest.

I frown, and I notice Stefan stiffen but he reluctantly wraps his arms around her.

Ah my brother and his hero haircut.

She continues to cry and I cringe slightly and look away, no matter how much I don't like her, I hate seeing girls cry.

Eventually she calms down, Stefan whispering soothing words into her ear and I can't help but wonder how he does it, because it's Rebekah Mikaelson and knowing how to calm her down just doesn't make sense to me.

She's like a hurricane.

"Rebekah," I speak up against my better judgement and watch as she pulls out of Stefan's grasp and turns to face me, her eyes red raw and her mascara smudged down her cheeks. "I know this doesn't help, but I am sorry for you. But Kol killed Katherine, he confessed to me and Elena and then Klaus overheard him, they fought and we managed to escape while they were too busy fighting to notice us and I really don't know what else happened. I have no idea where they are or what happened after we left…that's the truth."

She looks at me silently for a moment before slowly nodding her head. "Ok." She says quietly before turning back to face my brother. "Will you drive me home?"

Stefan looks surprised by her request but nods his head anyway and they both leave together.

I let out a breath I didn't even realize I was holding once they go and lean back against my uncomfortable pillows.

I wonder if all of the Mikaelson's have psychotic tendencies?

"So remember to take your medication twice a day, Elena, and to rest that leg and keep it elevated." my doctor warns me with a smile before leaving the room.

I let out a sigh of relief and pull on my jacket, so happy to be discharged. I don't think I could have spent another night here alone.

"Can we stop by and see Damon on our way out?" I ask hopefully to Jenna but it's not her who answers unfortunately.

"You heard what the doctor said, Elena, you need to rest that leg, and by resting she means at home." John tells me firmly but I roll my eyes and ignore him.

"Aunt Jenna?"

I watch as she glances between me and John unsure for a moment before sighing. "I'm sure a quick trip to say goodbye won't harm her."

"Won't harm her? He's the reason she is in this place!"

I glare at him and turn away angrily, no matter what I say to him, what I have already said to him over the last few hours he has been here; he refuses to accept that this isn't Damon's fault.

I push myself up from my bed, placing my arms through the handles of my crutches and balancing myself properly, knowing that it's going to take me a little while to get used to walking around in these things.

"You ok?" Jeremy asks me concerned and comes over to help me but I shake my head stopping him.

"I'm fine, I just need to get used to walking with these things. It's harder than it looks."

I wait patiently as Jenna gathers up the rest of my things in the room and just as we're about to leave a knock on the door interrupts us and I frown confused when I see that it's Miss Flemming.

"Hi," she walks in looking nervous and I look at her surprised.

"Hi…"

"Sorry, I didn't realize are you leaving already?" she notices the bags and the fact that I'm stood dressed out of bed, but that still doesn't explain what she's doing here?

"Can we help you?" John ignores her question and I notice that he's glaring at her.

She turns to look at him with a glare of her own before turning to look back over at me, her features softening. "I heard what happened, I just wanted to stop by and check that you're ok?"

"Yeah I'm…I'll be ok." I answer "Thanks for the concern."

"I uh, I brought you flowers." She walks closer into the room and I look down at the bouquet in her hands a little surprised.

"Thanks." I smile politely as Jenna quickly takes the flowers from her hands.

"That is very kind of you, thank you." Jenna thanks her again with a polite smile. "Alaric didn't mention that the school were going to send someone over."

She shifts awkwardly for a moment before answering. "Well…it was kind of a last minute thing, Elena is a popular girl over there, and we all wanted to wish her well."

"She's also in need of rest," John interrupts with a scowl on his face. "And we were just heading out; we need to get her home so she can rest her leg."

"After I see Damon." I interrupt, still not missing the looks him and Miss Flemming keep sending each other. "I haven't seen him today, and I want to see him and quite frankly, John, you can't stop me."

"No one is stopping you, Elena." Jenna interrupts calmly before John can argue back.

"No? It seems that way." I glare at him and he just sighs and shakes his head.

"I just think it'd be best if you came straight home to spend some time with your family, this has affected them too you know, we have been so worried and scared for you."

"Oh don't you dare even talk to me about family!"

"Elena, John, please not now, we have a guest." Jenna widens her eyes at us and motions to Miss Flemming who I had temporarily forgotten was still in the room.

"Sorry." I mumble awkwardly before turning to face my brother. "Will you walk me to Damon's room?"

"Sure," he sends me a soft smile and grabs one of my bags, swinging it over his shoulder and walking out of the room, waiting outside by the door.

"Thanks again for the flowers Miss Flemming," I nod my head at her and smile politely and as I walk past she reaches her hand out and touches my arm.

"I'm just so glad that you're ok, Elena."

I force another smile and shift past her awkwardly to Jeremy who is stood in the hallway.

"So….that wasn't awkward at all." He smirks at me and I let out a small laugh as we walk towards the elevator.

"Nope, just a perfect normal morning with the Gilbert's." I roll my eyes as I press the button that takes us down to Damon's floor, waiting impatiently as it slowly moves. So anxious to see him.

We eventually get to his room and I walk inside without knocking, watching as he turns his gaze away from the window and onto me, his smile widening as he does so.

"Hey you." He smiles and waves me over, tubes are still attached to his arms and hands but at least he doesn't have his oxygen mask this time.

That's a good sign.

"Hi," I limp over to him with my crutches and immediately press my mouth against his, kissing him fiercely as his hand wraps around the back of my neck. "I missed you, so much." I mumble against his lips before pecking him softly.

"I missed you too." He pulls away and looks down at my leg with a grimace. "How are you doing? Does it still hurt?"

"A little, but my pain medication is keeping most of it at bay." I explain while going to sit down on the chair but Damon grabs my arm and pats the side of his bed with his over hand.

"You have to keep that leg elevated, right? The best way to do that is if you're lying on a bed you know." He tells me with a sweet smile on his face and I roll my eyes before climbing in alongside him, my leg laying flat across the bed.

"Sure," I tease him before pressing a kiss to his cheek. "How are you?" I ask softly as he shuffles a little beside me to get comfortable and I link one of my hands in his, our fingers looping together.

"Better than yesterday." He replies casually. "I still keep getting headaches and my ribs and chest are aching, but apart from that I'm peachy. Oh, and I almost forgot, I had a visitor earlier."

"Miss Flemming? She just stopped by my room too, I'm glad she came to see you, I thought it was little weird that she just randomly showed up."

"No," Damon turns his head to face me with a frown. "Rebekah."

"Rebekah? She came here?" I ask shocked and also a little pissed off. How dare she come and see him? "Hasn't her family done enough? What did she want?"

"She accused me of doing something to Klaus and Kol, claiming that we lied about Kol killing Katherine." He explains simply and I don't know how he can be so calm about this.

"That bitch! After everything that they did to us, to you, she has the nerve to storm in here and blame it on you?!"

"Look, it's fine." He squeezes my hand. "She was just upset and looking for someone to blame, we managed to calm her down and Stefan took her home."

"Why are you so calm about this?" I ask confused.

"Because despite how much she annoys the hell out of me, she hasn't actually done anything wrong in all of this. She can't help who she is related too, none of us can."

"Speaking of, John has been here all day and has been driving me crazy." I huff in annoyance. "What part of I'm not ready to talk or see to him does he not understand?"

"So ignore him; he's not worth your time." He wraps his arm around me and kisses the top of my head slowly. "He left you, he sucks."

I smile a little at his words and close my eyes, leaning my head against his shoulder as he brings his hand up that's wrapped around me and plays with the bottom of my hair, twirling a piece around his finger slowly.

"Hey listen to me, Elena." He breaks the calm comfortable silence that he overtook us and I slowly open my eyes.

"What is it?" I ask a little concerned by the seriousness of his voice.

"Klaus and Kol, they are still out there somewhere, and until the police find them, I don't want you to go anywhere by yourself, ok?"

"I'll be fine, Damon. I may be in crutches but I'm not a total invalid."

"Elena I'm serious." He tells me firmly. "You know what they are capable of, what Kol is capable of. Please, I am asking you to do this for me, make sure you're never on your own, and the second I'm out of here I won't leave your side."

"Not that I'm complaining about you not leaving my side, don't you think that's a little extreme?" I ask him stubbornly.

"No, I don't." he hits back immediately. "Do this for me, Elena, so I can at least sleep just a little at night."

"Ok, sure, for you." I give in and he places his fingers under my chin and tilts my head back so he can kiss me. I sigh into the kiss before slowly pulling away. "When are you getting out of here anyway?"

He shrugs and kisses my nose quickly before replying. "No idea."

"I hope it's soon, I hate seeing you in here."

"I don't particularly enjoy it either baby," he smirks at me and I roll my eyes and tap his chest lightly.

A knock on the door interrupts us and I look up to see Jenna walk into the room with a small smile on her face.

"Hi guys," she greets us before turning her attention to my boyfriend. "How you feeling, Damon?"

"Better." He replies politely. "I hear this one has been discharged?"

"She sure has, which is why I'm here actually. John is getting impatient and wants to get you home."

I frown at her words and stay firmly rooted in my spot. "What's the rush? What better place for me to be than a hospital? How about he leaves and I'll stay here?"

"Elena, he is only like this because he cares." She offers me but I just roll my eyes and shake my head.

"A bit late for that."

"Hey, maybe you should go?" Damon cuts in and I turn to look at him surprised.

"Are you serious?"

"Listen," he murmurs quietly into my ear so Jenna can't hear. "Sometimes it's best to pick your battles and let some go, play along, be nice, and put a smile on your face. Keep Jenna and Jeremy happy, be the bigger person. Go home, have a nice bath, have a nice hot homemade meal, an early night and first thing tomorrow morning, I'll have Stefan come and get you and bring you straight back here, no matter what John Gilbert says, ok?"

I let out a reluctant sigh before slowly nodding my head. "Ok, fine." She gives in. "I'll be here the second I can tomorrow though, all day." I warn him and watch as a smile crosses his lips.

"I wouldn't want anything else." He smiles softly at me as I slowly climb out of his bed and put my arms back in my crutches. "Come here." He motions me to lean down and the second I do his lips are back on mine in a searing kiss.

"Ahem." Jenna interrupts us with a fake cough after a few moments and I blush slightly, forgetting that she was still even in the room.

"I love you," Damon whispers at me softly.

"I love you too." I kiss him again before reluctantly pulling away. "I'll see you tomorrow." I wave him goodbye and grudgingly follow Jenna out of the room.

When I wake up the next morning I open my eyes surprised to find Giuseppe sitting on a chair beside my bed, I think this is the first time since I've been in here that I've actually seen him sit down and I frown at him confused.

"What are you doing here?" I ask puzzled.

"What kind of question is that? I'm your father." He replies sternly and I let out a dry laugh and turn my head away.

Is he serious?

"Look," he breaks the awkward silence that descends on us. "I wanted to apologize " I snap my head towards him in shock, because my father very rarely apologizes especially to me.

"For what?" I ask, trying to act uninterested.

"For what happened to you," he mutters out and I can tell he is finding this difficult. "I should have noticed sooner that you were missing." He coughs slightly before continuing. "But honestly Damon, you can't really blame me. It's not like you spend any time at home anyway, you're always off gallivanting around town with that Gilbert girl or your friends, and when you are home you lock yourself away upstairs in your bedroom."

"Yeah and why the hell do you think that is?" I reply coldly. "And PS, I don't gallivant, and that Gilbert girl is called Elena, and you know that. She's my girlfriend; please treat her with some respect."

Giuseppe rolls his eyes and completely ignores what I've just said. "I spoke to Liz Forbes, she said she needs to ask you a few more questions when you're feeling better but apart from that this whole thing is over for you."

"How can it be over with Kol and Klaus still out there?" I ask him in disbelief and then a moment of realization crosses over me. "Oh no, no way in hell, please don't tell me the Founders Council are planning on brushing this under the carpet?!"

"Don't be so stupid," Giuseppe scolds me. "What I mean is, it will be over for you. You're probation runs out next month, and after that then everything that happens is all down to you." He tells me. "The Mikaelson boys aren't your problem anymore, the police are going to deal with them both in a correct manner. We have had several council meetings about this entire situation and we have all agreed that this time we won't be keeping it in house."

"Good." I clench my jaw slightly and watch as Giuseppe checks his phone as well fall into an uncomfortable silence which I definitely want to break. "So, any idea when I'll be getting out of this place?"

"I spoke to Dr Fell while you were asleep, she says not until at least the end of this week."

"Are you serious? I feel much better!"

"You had life threatening injuries, Damon, and the only reason that you're feeling better is because of those tubes attached to you and all of the medication you are taking, trust me, without them you would be in a lot more pain."

"Fine, whatever." I sigh and lean back against my bed, looking over at the clock on wall across the room, counting down the minutes until Elena gets here.

"That'll be Stefan!" I call out from the kitchen the next morning when the doorbell rings, hoping that Jenna or Jeremy will answer so I don't have to rush. I quickly finish off my coffee and place my arms back in my crutches as I hobble out into the hallway, anxious to see Damon, but immediately come to a halt when it's not Stefan stood by the door, which Jeremy has opened, but John.

"Great," I roll my eyes. "What do you want?"

"Less of your attitude." He fires back and I scowl at him. "Look, I know you're mad at me, I totally understand that, but we can't keep going on like this. You're hurt and whether you like it or not, we are family and you can't blame me and be angry at me for wanting to be around you right now. You could have died the other day, you nearly did." His tone is softer than it was before and I turn my head and look away. "I don't want to cause you anymore pain but-"

"If that were the case then you wouldn't be here!" I cut him off angrily. "I asked you for one thing, one thing and that was to give me some space but you can't even do that!"

"You got shot!"

"I'm very much aware of that!" I hiss back and look over John's shoulder to see Stefan skeptically walking up the steps of my porch through the open door that Jeremy has yet to close. He must have heard shouting because he pulls an awkward expression on his face.

"I can come back later?"

"No. I'm ready now; wait for me in the car?"

"Sure." He smiles slightly at me before nodding at Jeremy and walking back down the steps back over to his parked car at the bottom of my driveway.

"Now excuse me, I'm going out."

"You're going to see Damon? The doctor said you needed to stay home and rest."

"And I told you, you don't get to tell me what to do."

"Look, it's not like she's going to be running around is it? She's just going to be sat in a hospital." Jeremy jumps in to try and calm the situation down.

"Fine." John gives in with a sigh and I hop past him towards the door but he calls me back.

"What now?" I ask impatiently.

"Has uh…has that woman been back in contact with you since yesterday?" he asks stiffly.

"What woman?" I ask him confused.

"The teacher who stopped by the hospital yesterday, has she been back to see you or tried to contact you in any way?" he asks, trying to keep his tone light and casual but I can hear something edgy behind it, and by the frown on Jeremy's face, I'm guessing he can too.

"No." I reply with a frown, because this is getting weird. "Why would she?"

He shrugs "I don't know…I just don't want anyone to push you to go back to school." He explains. "You've been through a traumatic experience; you should only go back when you're ready."

"I don't think that's what she was doing…" I trail off confused.

He stands still for a moment and looks at me and my frown deepens. What the hell is wrong with him?

"I gotta go," I roll my eyes slightly, not in the mood to stay here for a moment longer and I leave as quickly as I can towards Stefan's car.

The second I arrive in Damon's room I wrap my arms around him in a tight hug, his own immediately wrapping around my waist.

"How are you?" I ask concerned as I eye him up and down and I can see a bit of his knife wound across the top of his chest from the edge of the top of his hospital gown.

"Better now for seeing you," he pulls back and kisses me softly on the lips. "You sleep ok?"

"Not really," I confess. I did have a few nightmares; most of them involving Klaus and Kol hurting Damon, but most of the reason was just the aching pain in my leg as I had to lie still in bed, any kind of movement irritated my still healing wound. "When do you get out of here? I'm sure I'll sleep better with you beside me."

"Not until the end of the week." He replies with a frown.

I sigh disappointed but I don't want him to leave any earlier than necessary while he is still recovering.

We spend the day just hanging out, talking and laughing together, teasing each other, watching TV, playing stupid card games that Damon always beats me at. It's nice, and calm, something I think we both needed.

We had some visitors along the way, Stefan came in and out a lot, and Rose stopped by briefly with Trevor and luckily we kept the Klaus and Kol chat to a minimum, even Alaric came to visit on his lunch break, which was amusing for me to watch him and Damon constantly bicker and tease each other.

I'd swear they were brothers in a past life.

After Dr Fell walked out the room after checking up on Damon, my phone beeps and I look down at my phone to see a text from John checking up on me.

"Who's that?" Damon asks curiously. "You look like someone has just stamped on a puppy."

"John." I reply with a huff. "He wants to know what time I'll be home." I ignore the text and throw my phone back in my purse.

"Is he still being full on?" he asks sympathetically before taking my hand in his and kissing each of my fingers.

"That's a word for it! Remember how I told you that Miss Flemming stopped by the hospital yesterday to send me some flowers?" Damon nods his head. "He asked me this morning if she had been in contact again, apparently he believes that she is pressuring me to go back to school, which is ridiculous because she didn't even say anything that could have hinted towards that. He is so paranoid." I roll my eyes slightly. "Wait, did anyone from school drop by to check up on you?"

"Nope." He replies and then a smirk crosses his lips. "It's not like I'm popular over there though! Unlike you, nerd."

"Shut up!" I scold him and jokingly slap his arm. "It's not my fault that I'm obviously her favorite student!"

"You're every teachers favorite student, suck up!" he teases me and I pull my hand out of his and send him a mocking glare.

"Are you done being an ass?"

"Can I have your hand back?"

"Only if you promise to stop teasing me!"

"Fine," he smiles at me with a chuckle and I can't help but let out a laugh of my own, his smile is so real and perfect and it literally gives me butterflies. I loop my fingers back through his and he brings them back up to his lips to kiss my knuckles softly. "That's better," he smiles at me before bringing it back down, our hands still attached as they rest on the bed beside him.

We fall into a comfortable silence, both just grateful to be in each other's company and relieved that we're going to be ok, when I notice a frown cross Damon's face.

"Hey…Elena?" he turns to face me, his face serious and I scrunch my eyebrows together concerned.

"Yeah?"

"Can you remember when I told you that I saw John arguing with Miss Flemming at school the other week?"

"Yeah…" I answer confused, remembering when he told me that John had clearly been looking for me, even though I never actually saw him that day after all.

"You've mentioned before how weird she can be with you, and I've noticed it too. She always shows concern and asks questions, and not just in a typical student-teacher kind of way."

"I don't understand what you're getting at here, Damon?"

"What did you say your birth Mom was called again?" he asks slowly and my frown deepens.

"John said she was called Belle." I answer, still confused by where this is going but then I feel goosebumps cross over my arms and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. "Why Damon?" I gulp slightly, afraid of his answer.

"Miss Flemming…" he looks at me, his eyes wide. "Her name…it's-"

My heart starts to pound hard against my chest as my face matches his shocked own, a sickly feeling attacking the pits of my stomach.

"Isobel." I whisper out in shock.

So they have finally figured it out! It has been said that Damon is too smart for his own good!

Thanks for all your awesome and amazing reviews, you're all the reason I can keep updating this story at a fairly speedy pace!

Until next time! :)