Piercing Words (Elena)

Even long after Damon had left, I was starring at the point where he had disappeared into the estate and out of my view, at the point where we had stood only minutes ago and had looked into each other's eyes. This look; his look. My heart was still beating a lot faster than it used to beat and I could still feel the intense gaze of his deep blue eyes literally everywhere. It had set my entire body on fire; leaving not a single place which had not went up in flames.

He had surprised me; not only yesterday. This plan to kill Katherine was really more than idiotic. Why did they always have to risk their lives for me? But this conversation … I had felt like I could talk about everything with him, as if he would have understood me … blindly. Even if I hadn't said a single word, he had been able to know how I had felt; as if our minds would have been connected. No, not only our minds; our … souls … like … soulmates. Immediately Jenna's words came back to my mind: "One day you will find him, your soulmate" … had I maybe found him already?

No! No! I loved Stefan; only … Stefan. But with him it was … different. But could you love someone and have a different person as your soulmate? Someone who knew you better than everyone else on earth … better than your best friends you knew since kindergarten, better than your … boyfriend? Someone who was always there for you, who knew to say the right words at exactly the right time, felt when you needed him?

Immediately I thought of his kiss. His lips on mine … In the first moment I had been incapable to do anything and I had felt his fear that I would beat him every moment. I had to laugh when I remembered his nearly shy, fearful approach. But in the moment his lips had touched mine I … had forgotten everything around me; all people on the terrace, the constant danger through Katherine, Stefan. All I had felt was his lips on mine, his hands on my cheeks, his body against mine. It had felt so right in this moment, so absolutely right. I had felt … home; like I had felt nowhere else before; as if my heart would finally have found it's home … I had felt our hearts beating in the same rhythm, even if that is technically impossible; the gentle, soft and passionate pressure of his lips on mine.

I lifted my hand to touch my lips, the lips he had kissed nearly an hour ago; or has it already been two?

When I'm with him I always forget time and place. I'm just … happy; nothing else matters in these moments.

I slowly turned around and walked down the stairs back to the black lake. Somehow it appeared to be darker now. And I felt colder. I shivered and wrapped my arms around my body. I hadn't really recognized how cold and dark it really had become while Damon had been with me.

I never feel cold when he is with me; as if his presence is enough to light up the world around me and let me feel warm.

I sighted and looked over the lake into the endless darkness on the other side.

He had changed; a lot. The first time I had met him and the following weeks he had perfectly proven that he had been the perfect macho, a total badass, with nothing good left inside of him. He had made many mistakes; he had killed Tanner, turned Vicky, taking away the first person with whom my brother had felt happy again after the death of our parents. He had killed Lexi, taking away Stefan's best friend for decades and he had hurt me in so many ways, so many times; proving me again and again that I had been wrong with my trust in him and now? Now he still made mistakes but … he regretted them, he felt responsible … he FEELT.

And I understood that he never ever had intended to hurt me voluntarily. He was just not … perfect. Like none of us was. And I could say that I was nothing better. I was even worse; because I had hurt him, too. The only difference was that he nevertheless had been there for me, had helped me, had supported me, had saved me, had tried everything to make it alright. I hadn't done that. I had judged him; told him to be heartless, cutting of every single connection, refusing every logical thinking, every trust. I had given up immediately. I had given him up from one moment to another because of one single mistake … and that had been the biggest mistake I had ever made in my life …

From the distance I could hear that the band had started to play the song we had danced to at the Miss Mystic Falls party and immediately the few minutes we spend dancing tonight came back to my mind. It had been incredible to dance with him when he had taken in Stefan's place month ago that day; and it had been even more incredible tonight.

I could still feel the place his hand had touched my back, his hand had held mine, how only the fact of feeling his body so close to mine had sent chills through my spine, my entire body. How we had turned around to the music, how I couldn't resist to lay my head on his chest; how I had felt his heartbeat speeding up, even if I knew that this has actually been impossible; how I had felt this close connection, this feeling of being save, to have nothing to worry about again, just like yesterday night; first in the rain and then in my bedroom when he had watched over me.

A slight smile appeared on my face which immediately turned into an expression of worry.

I hope he is alright, I hope both are alright.

Shot in the Dark - Within Temptation

Now I'm fighting this war since the day of the fall
And I'm desperately holding on to it all
But I'm lost
I'm so damn lost.

In the blink of an eye
I can see through your eyes
As I'm lying awake I'm still hearing the cries
And it hurts
Hurts me so bad

'Cause your soul is on fire
A shot in the dark,
What did they aim for when they missed your heart?'
I feel you fading away ...

Lost in my thought, I hadn't heard that I wasn't alone anymore at the dark lake. When I heard a familiar voice I recoiled – and started to shiver.

"Hello Elena", the arrogant voice said. "I've heard that you were coming, too; so I thought that it would be unfriendly to leave without saying hello to my beloved doppelganger."

I slowly turned around; trying to hide my fear; but nevertheless my voice was trembling.

"What do you want, Katherine?"

"Hmm somehow I have been asked that question far too often today. So I won't repeat it again. Just ask your boy-, sorry, ex-boyfriend. But first you will have to remove that little stake out of him …"

"What have you done to him?" I screamed, suddenly not afraid anymore. If she had hurt … killed … him. I didn't even want to think about it.

"Relax. Your beloved Stefan is alive. He is just pinned to the wall in this nice room he wanted to imprison me in. The Lockwood's have so little pictures on their walls; I thought adding a hot guy would make the walls a bit more … colorful. I have to admit it looks a bit … cruel; but oh well."

I stared at her hatefully and suddenly a total different thought came to my mind. She hadn't said a word about Damon … was he?

"What have you done to Damon?" I hissed.

"Oooh yes, right, the second Salvatore. I forgot that you share the same interests as I do. Concerning that we are really the same. One guy doesn't seem to be enough for you either. But now between us two girls, who do you think is hotter? I mean; Damon's eyes are so blue but when Stefan is angry …."

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO DAMON?"

"Gosh! You really must have had a bad day; bad week. Yeah, I can understand that, such a break –up isn't very easy. Very emotional. But no need to be hysterical. Let's say the walls in the corridor needed some more color, too."

"I swear if you have hurt him, I will kill you!"

"You? Me? Oh, I'm dying to see that, my dear. But far more interesting to me is - who are you talking about now? When will you kill me? When I hurt Damon? Or your beloved Stefan? Or both?"

"You … damn arrogant bitch!"

"Hey, that is not the way a proper lady talks, my dear. You seem to have been influenced by the two Salvatores a lot concerning that. No manners at all."

"Don't tell me anything about manners!"

"Okay, I see you are incapable of girls talk. Then let's switch to the main topic."

Not even having finished the sentence, she had rushed over to me, gripped my throat with one hand and pressed me to the tree behind me. My feet were dangling in the air and her grip was so strong that I was barely able to breathe.

"And now, you listen, my dear doppelganger. I want you to stay out of Stefan's life. Forever. He has been mine and he will be mine again – forever. Do you understand me?" She hissed; her face so close to mine that I could see the evil in her eyes; eyes, which were gleaming red by now. I nodded nearly invisible.

"I said; do you understand me?" She yelled, her grip tightening even more around my throat.

She wanted to torture me. She wanted me to answer even though she knew that I was barely getting enough air not to faint.

She is a monster, the pure evil, the devil in person.

Tears started to build up in my eyes – and I didn't really know why. Maybe because her grip hurt my throat, maybe because I felt my lungs aching for air they wouldn't get, maybe because I knew that I would die tonight; and maybe because I couldn't say goodbye.

I couldn't apologize to Bonnie for all she had to go through because of my involvement with vampires. I couldn't apologize to Caroline because she had been turned into one because of me; because Katherine had wanted revenge. I couldn't hug Jeremy a last time and tell Jenna what for an amazing job she did as a surrogate mother. I couldn't tell Stefan that I loved him … and I couldn't look into those deep blue eyes which belonged to Damon one last time.

I closed my eyes, trying not to let the despair and fear of suffocating gain the upper hand. All the faces of the people that I loved flashed in front of my eyes. I was screaming inside, trying to fight against Katherine's grip around my throat but knowing at the same time that it was useless. My mind started to get blurry; I couldn't come up with a clear thought because of the lack of oxygen and I was about to give up when I suddenly relaxed; completely.

Something around me had changed, there was a presence, a light in the darkness that was about to enwrap me, making me feel totally calm from one minute to another. In this moment, I knew I wasn't going to die.

I opened my eyes again and stared behind Katherine up to the person who was standing on the stairs. Tears started to run down my cheeks. Even if she would kill me tonight, I had at least seen his face one last time … and his eyes. My mind was drifting away and everything that happened next I experienced only through a thick curtain.

"Let – go – of – her!" Damon's voice hissed.

"Wow, you got rid of that little stake quite fast. The fear about your beloved Elena must have motivated you a lot", she replied without turning around, without loosening her grip around my throat.

"But I guess you are too late. She doesn't look too … alive anymore."

As an answer I heard the most fearful snarl I had ever heard and seconds later the grip around my throat was suddenly gone. Coughing I slid down the tree and fell to the ground where I remained, trying to get as much air into my lungs as possible.

A cracking sound let me recoil and lift my head immediately; just to see how Katherine was thrown against a tree to my right hand. Only seconds later he had pulled her up from the ground, his hands tight around her throat and smashed her to the ground which cracked under the unbelievable strong force with which Damon had thrown her onto it. Both of his hands were wrapped around Katherine's throat and he was kneeling above her. When he spoke, I could barely recognize his voice.

"You dared to hurt her? I will kill you!" He hissed, his eyes gleaming red with pure anger and hatred, his fangs bared.

In this moment, I knew he would kill her because I had never seen him so angry. It was … frightened.
But then he let go of her and within seconds he was at my side.

"Elena are you alright?" He asked; his voice which had been full of hatred only seconds ago, now fearful.

But I was incapable to answer. The hands who had just nearly strangled Katherine lay on my shoulders now and even if I could make out worry in his eyes, they were still gleaming red and his fangs were still bared from the outburst of rage. I looked at him frightful, not knowing how to react. My fearful look must have been more than obvious because in an instant Damon had retracted his fangs and his eyes turned to the deep blue I was so used to.

"I'm sorry. I …"

"It … it's alright." I stuttered.

"Can you …."

But Damon couldn't finish the sentence. Within seconds Katherine had appeared behind him, gripped his shoulder and thrown him against the tree, she had been thrown at. With a loud crack it burst at the place where Damon's body hit it. I recoiled. I knew he was able to stand a lot more; nevertheless it didn't keep me from gasping. But faster as I could make it out, he was on his feet again, starring at Katherine.

"I just wanted revenge. Now we're even."

"We are never even you damn bitch! Not when you hurt the people I care about!"

"Okay if you want it the brutal way."

With these words she was rushing over to Damon; wanting to throw him back against the tree but he was prepared now and reacted immediately. The next thing I saw was Katherine being pushed to the ground with one hand. But this time she was prepared, too. Before he could wrap his hands around her throat again she lifted her leg and pushed him off of her with the heel of her shoes.

The next moves were too fast for my eyes to catch. All I could make out was the sound of cracking ground or trees whenever a body hit it. I held my breath. She was way older than him, stronger, more experienced when it came to fights and he … had loved her.

The next crack let me suddenly rouse from my thoughts – because it wasn't the ground or a tree that broke. It sounded like … bones. And the scream let me shiver. Katherine was standing over Damon. His face was contorted in pain. Katherine lunged out with her foot and his body was slithering over the ground closer to the place where I was still lying on the ground. Within seconds Katherine was standing above him again, placing her sharp heel on his chest.

"And now Damon, are you still so eager to fight me? You will never win!"

"You damn bit…" but the rest of the sentence was interrupted by another scream. Katherine had pierced her heel further into his chest.

"You are so unbelievable stupid! Why do you do all of this? Why do you risk your life for her? You don't want to tell me …" She paused when she saw his look – full of hatred and … concern. "No! Oh no! Damon, you don't want to tell me that you fell for her! Really? You risk her life because you love her?"

My heart began to beat faster at her words. I didn't know what to think nor what to feel. My mind was totally confused but Katherine didn't give me much time to sort my thoughts.

"So your brother's girlfriend … again. You know how it ended in 1864! Hadn't that been a lesson for you? You had died for a woman who NEVER loved you! Do you really want to make the same mistake again?"

"At least this time it would be worth it." Damon hissed; his breathing unsteady and fast.

"Worth it? Don't you see? She will NEVER love you! You will die for a woman who will never ever love you - again!"

"Even if you are right, it doesn't matter to me. I would die for her, always."

I could see the concern in his eyes – and at the same time the … sadness. I swallowed.

He would give his life for me … always … no matter what I feel for him … no matter if I hate him or … love him.

"You are so damn stupid. It is such a shame. But well if you want it this way."

With lightning speed she rushed to the next tree and broke of a huge branch, then broke it into parts – with sharp endings. Just like … stakes. I gasped.

"I don't mind killing you", she went on; now standing over him again. "What do you mean to me?"

With all her force she smashed the first stake into his shoulder. His scream let my heart shatter. I gasped. My breathing fastened. No … no …

"I already told you, do you remember? This evening … when you were begging me to be honest with you, to tell you the truth … just once … how you told me that you missed me all these damn 145 years?"

Another stake was smashed into his shoulder. I recoiled when I heard another scream.

"Poor Damon … first the love of his last 145 years refuses him and then his present love …"

My mind was whirling. What was she talking about? What evening? What had happened between them that evening? And why did she say she had refused him and then … no … not … THIS … night …

"I never missed you, not a single moment in my entire life and I will not miss you if I kill you now."

Two stakes into each of his legs.

"And she …", she pointed towards me, "… will never miss you either because she only wants your brother! As always!"

A stake into his stomach.

"I never loved you in my entire life! You were just an adventure to entertain me! You never meant anything to me! Anything!"

Two stakes into his hands.

His screams were tearing me apart, let my heart shatter. It felt as if I would be staked, too, as if a stake was driven into my heart again and again. And I could see that not only the stakes were hurting him … the words hit him more than every stake could ever hit him.

"And I tell you; with our little substitute it's no difference!"

With these words she kneeled above him, one last stake in her hand, above her head, pointing to his heart.

"Noooooooo!"

With all the strength I had left I rushed over to them and wrenched the stake out of Katherine's hands. Luckily I surprised her with this move otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get it from her. Heavily breathing I stood in front of her with the stake in my hand.

"It is completely different with me, you damn bitch! I'm NOTHING like you! Nothing! And I will never ever let you kill him; because he is one of the most important persons in the world for me. He means everything to me!"

"Really? So you don't mind dying for him?"

With these words I could feel her hands wrap around my throat again, tighter than ever before.

"No … I … don't … mind." I hissed haltingly, her grip around my throat tightening. Her eyes were burning red; devilish.

In this moment, for the first time ever, I wished I would be a vampire who could easily free herself and rip these damn arrogant eyes out. But all I could do now was to hold onto the last bit of strength I had left inside of me, to look to Damon one last time who desperately tried to free himself of the stakes no matter how much it hurt him. I could see that it was difficult for him to suppress a scream – of pain, of anger. I tried to signalize him that he should stop trying, stop hurting himself because it was useless to fight Katherine. If she wanted someone dead, he or she would be dead. But even while I tried to stop him, I already knew that he wouldn't. No matter if it would mean that he would die, too.

"I would die for her, always."

A tear ran down my cheek as I closed my eyes to prepare myself for the inevitable time when I would have no air left in my lungs.

And suddenly, just like the first time, the grip around my throat loosened. I opened my eyes in surprise and saw that Damon had managed to wrench his left arm out of the stakes in his hand and shoulder. His jacket was torn at the places Katherine had smashed the stakes into and huge amounts of blood ran out of the wounds. Nevertheless he had gripped Katherine's ankle.

"If you want to kill her, you will have to kill me first", he said with unbelievable concern in his voice and eyes.

Then he threw her to the ground. Completely surprised by this sudden move, she let go of me and I sank to the ground beside Damon. But within seconds Katherine was on her feet again, gripped the stake I had let fallen to the ground and stood over Damon again. Her eyes were full of anger – and concern, just like Damon's; just that they were concerned that the hands which were holding the stake would smash it into his heart every moment.

I gasped and wanted to attack her a second time when she suddenly let the stake drop to the ground and screamed in pain, her hands pressed against her temples. I turned my head to the left and saw Bonnie, Stefan and a woman I had never seen before on the top of the stairs. The woman slowly walked downstairs, the moonstone in her hand.

"You should have told me that a witch was involved. She is a Bennett witch, Katherine! But I'm sure you knew that."

With that she threw the moonstone right in front of Katherine who was now kneeling on the ground in pain.

"My duty is over. I owe you nothing anymore."

"I apologize for my involvement", she went on, this time speaking in my and Damon's, then Stefan and Bonnie's direction who had come closer. When she turned around and walked upstairs Katherine broke down and remained on the ground unconscious.

While Bonnie ran after her and Stefan remained in his position, unable to move, I rushed over to Damon and pulled on the stakes that were still pinning him to the ground. But Katherine had smashed them with such a force into him that a human's force would never have been enough to get them out.

"Stefan!" I screamed. "Come over and help me! We need to free him from these stakes!"

I seemed to have interrupted him in his thoughts but it didn't matter to me at the moment. All I wanted was to get these stakes out of Damon. He came over to me and within seconds the stakes were laying on the ground. Damon was free.

"Where have you been?" I asked angrily while I kneeled on the ground besides Damon and supported his shoulders so he could sit up.

This damn bitch! I could kill her!

"It is not his fault, Elena", Damon groaned while coming to a sitting position.

"Katherine was clever. I guess her witch, this dark-haired woman, had sensed the spell Bonnie had put on the room and warned Katherine. She had removed Bonnie's spell and created a new one – that Damon and I couldn't leave the room. This bitch is a damn good actress! She wanted to leave the room and acted as if she couldn't although she could have walked straight through the door and out of the room. Thank god I found out about the spell before Damon could enter the room otherwise … "

But he couldn't go on with the sentence. But I knew how it would have ended. Without Damon I would be dead by now. And now he was sitting here on the ground and his wounds were still bleeding like hell.

Damn! Why don't they heal!?

Stefan had recognized my worried look.

"He needs blood … a lot of blood", he said, his voice worried, too.

"Yeah awesome! And what shall we do? Kill the next person that comes close to the stairs?"

Stefan frowned and I could see that he was thinking about all the options we had; which were very limited.

"Do you think you can get him into your car?" He asked.

"Of course!"

"Guys I'm not dead. I can walk myself!" Damon interrupted us and stood up – only to nearly collapse to the ground again if Stefan and I wouldn't have reacted so fast and gripped his shoulders.

"Yeah, I see. You can perfectly walk alone!" I hissed.

Gosh, I hate the stubbornness of the two! Help me? A vampire? Never! Sometimes I would love to slap them directly into the face with everything my human strength gives away!

"You drive him to the estate as fast as possible; the refrigerator is full of bloodbags from the hospital. In the meantime I will call Bonnie and throw this bitch into the tomb she should have been in from the very beginning. Then I hope that Bonnie can manage to cast the spell on the tomb again that kept the vampires imprisoned all these decades. And then our little Miss here can rot in hell", He said, stepping against Katherine's lifeless body.

"Do you think you can make it to your car on your own with him? I'm really not eager to leave Katherine here alone. I don't know how long she remains unconscious and I absolutely don't want to risk that a furious vampire runs around – she will probably make her threat true and rip this town into pieces in one night", Stefan added.

"No problem. Be careful. I don't want that the same happens to you and Bonnie."

"I will. Now hurry", Stefan said and placed Damon's arm around my shoulder.

It was a lot more difficult to carry him on my own without Stefan's help and I nearly collapsed under his weight but Damon recognized it immediately and tried to walk as much by himself as possible. On the way to my car none of us spoke a word. With every step we made I could see the pain in Damon's face and I was happy when we reached the car and he could sit down. I got into the car myself and we left the Lockwood estate.

"Thank you." I said after a while.

"For what?" He replied, a crooked smile on his face which turned nearly immediately into a painful expression again.

"For saving me … again … for … risking your life … for me … again."

"You're welcome."

"Did you … were you … honest when you told Katherine that you … would … always die for me?"

"More than honest", he replied simply.

"I … I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything." And the slight crooked smile appeared on his face again.

Then we both remained silent and the only hearable sound was Damon's exerted breathing. I was intently looking onto the road, so many different thoughts; so many questions were swirling in my mind.

This evening had been so full of surprises and had raised so many questions. All I had wanted – like always – had been to spend a normal evening, going onto a normal party and – as always – it had ended in a total chaos.

Katherine had never threatened us so much before and I had never been more afraid of her than I was now. Tonight she had shown what she was really capable of – and she would have killed me and Damon if Stefan, Bonnie and the witch hadn't arrived in time. I was more than sure about that.

And yes she had hurt me physically; my throat was still sore from the tight grip of her hands; but what left me so … exhausted, so … sad was the mental pain. Not the pain I had been forced to feel but … Damon. And somehow it had been as if I had felt it, too. Her words had been like shots with wooden bullets directly into his heart – and I had been able to see it from the expression in his face.

But her words had also given me a lot to think about. She had talked about "the night" and about him being refused by her and then by his present love. Had she talked about the night he had come to me, drunken? Because she had told him that she never had loved him? And had he killed Jeremy because I had refused him, too? But he had known that I love Stefan. He should have expected that I wouldn't kiss him back. That couldn't be all that had happened.

What the hell has happened in that night Damon?

When I thought about asking him right away, I suddenly rouse from my thoughts. Damon. It was too silent in the car; no exerted breathing. I turned my head to face him and immediately jammed on the brakes so that the car came with a sliding to a stop. He wasn't breathing at all anymore. He was …

"Damon! Damon! Wake up!" I gripped his shoulders and shook him, my hands covered with blood in an instant; his blood.

"Damon! Please open your eyes!" I screamed, tears welling up in my eyes. "Please!"

With one arm I stroke over my face, wiping away the tears and leaving tracks of his blood on my skin.

Blood …

I turned my head to all sides desperately looking for something sharp.

"Damn! I need something sharp only now! Please!" I cursed, speaking to myself.

My eyes went out of the window and stared into the darkness, my thoughts swirling in my mind, desperately finding a way to save him. Then my look fell onto the street out of the window. We were on the same road he had found me yesterday night; the same old, brittle street.

I jumped out of the car and luckily found a sharp stone at the roadside immediately. I cut my wrist with the sharp edge and blood was immediately running out of the wound. I hurried back into the car as fast as possible.

"Damon, you need to drink, please." I begged him, holding my wrist against his mouth, desperately hoping for a reaction.

I could see how he started breathing heavily again as he smelled my blood and how dark veins appeared under his eyes. I sighted out of relief. But I hadn't expected what happened next. With a strength I wouldn't have expected from him, he pushed my wrist away from his mouth, leaving tracks of my blood back on his lips. With the sleeve of his jacket he wiped them away, then he turned his face away from me, trying to gain control again over the urge to drink my blood and forcing his fangs which had extended back.

"Damon!"

"I'm … sorry … Elena. I … can't."

"You can't?" I screamed. "If I had offered myself to you willingly in the past, you wouldn't have hesitated a moment!"

"Yeah … in … the … past."

I could see how exhausting it was for him to fight with me; ever single word was a huge effort for him.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to fight with you. It is just … You nearly gave me a heart attack when you stopped breathing! I don't want to … loose you."

The crooked smile I loved so much appeared on his face again, and even if it was only a slight smile and followed by a painful expression, it calmed me.

"It is the easiest way. I don't know if I will survive another shock like this until we are back home", I added.

"If you would … drive instead of … cutting yourself … we would already be …home."

"You are unbelievable! But I promise you, if you do that again I will drench my blood into your mouth – if you want it or not - and I won't shrink from using violence if it is necessary", I said confident.

"Then … I need to be … extra careful … not to faint … again."

"Shut up or I will carry my threat out immediately." I said grimly and shook my head because of so much stubbornness.

The rest of the way we both remained silent. Damon really made his promise true and paid extra attention not to cause me a heart attack again; his breathing more rapidly than ever before; and I brooded about the reason why he had refused my blood. This man was really a huge mystery for me sometimes! In the past he would never ever had refused such an offer and now he had nearly hysterically pushed my arm away. I didn't get it! Either he desperately wanted to die or … I had no idea.

Damon instead seemed to enjoy watching me brooding with a grimly look on my face because he couldn't hold himself back to look at me from now and then, a grin appearing on his face whenever he did so. I didn't know if I should be happy about the fact that he could still smile in his condition or to slap him immediately. I decided for the first one and my face expression softened.

When we finally reached the mansion, I jumped out of my car as fast as possible and ran down into the cellar to get out as many bloodbags as I could carry out of the refrigerator. Then I hurried back to the car.

Relieved I watched how Damon drank one bloodbag after another. Finally some color came back to his face, his breathing slowed down, his blue eyes got the usual radiance back … and the crooked smile appeared on his face again; this time not followed by pain any longer.

A/N: Finally a new one! Sorry that it took me so long! My computer crashed and I had to get a new one at the weekend - damn expensive these things but for proper vidding it was necessary though - and now I am ill :/ But that means bed rest as much as possible and there is no better distraction than Damon ;) As an apologize; this chapter is pretty long compared to my usual chapter length. And it is one of my favorite ones. Oh how I love Within Temptation ...