Chapter 50 ~ The Clinic

The drive home was long and quiet. Neither Vella, nor Damon, broke the silence with idle chatter. Vella knew what Damon wanted to say and Damon didn't want to start an argument in the car. But when they arrived home, things were different. They had just walked in the door when Damon started.

"You are not going to do this alone!" Damon yelled, clearly frustrated.

Vella rolled her eyes and sighed. "I'm not going to argue with you about this," she said calmly and walked into the livingroom and poured herself a drink. "This is something I have to do alone."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked surprised.

Vella looked at him carefully and drank her glass of vodka. "Whatever is going on there, I doubt it will be easy to get to them. But I'm a nurse, or at least was. I'm going to see if I can get a job there or nearby."

Damon narrowed his eyes slightly. "And what if you can't find a job there?"

Vella laughed loudly and poured herself a drink. She held it up as if she was toasting and drank it down in one swallow. "I know a lot of people Damon. And if I can't get it that way, I will just compel someone."

Damon looked at Vella funny, which made her laugh. He walked up to her, wrapping his arms around her and smiling. "You know I just worry."

Vella rolled her eyes. "Here we go with the Stefan attitude again. I think marriage is making you old."

He looked at Vella with a slight smirk on his lips. "Well I am 145 years older than you."

"Yeah, you really robbed the cradle, didn't you?" she asked sarcastically and laughed.

Damon laughed and squeezed her tighter. He looked deep into her eyes, then leaned in and kissed her slowly and deeply. He pulled back after a few seconds, looking into her eyes again with a mocking expression. "You win."

Vella looked at him smiling. "Well that was easy. Usually it takes more than a kiss to win you over," she said grinning slyly.

Damon laughed lightly and released his grip on her so he could pour himself a drink. Vella watched him, thinking.

"Damon," she said carefully. "It's not because I don't want you to come with me. It's because I have no clue who is doing this. What if they know you?"

Damon held his drink by his side, eyeing her intently. He looked down at his drink and swirled it around in the glass before looking at her again. "You're right."

Vella waited for more. He just agreed with her and more so, said she was right. There had to be more. But as she watched him she realized he was being completely candid and didn't seem to have anything else to say. "That's it?"

Damon nodded his head once quickly. "That's it."

Vella narrowed her eyes in suspicion but didn't say anything else. She took off upstairs and after getting fresh clothes, jumped into the shower.

She took her time in the shower, hoping Damon would join her like usual, but he didn't. After a lot of idle thought, she got dressed and went to their bedroom. She didn't expect Damon would follow her, so she wasn't let down when he didn't show. She laid on the bed, for what was supposed to be a minute, and dozed off quickly.

When Vella woke up, she wasn't sure what time it was. The curtains were pulled tightly closed, so there were no hints there. She only knew it was still daytime.

Vella stretched widely, sighing and got up from her bed. She looked at her wrist and realized she had left her watch in the bathroom. As she walked to the bathroom to retrieve it, she heard voices downstairs. She stopped suddenly to listen.

"If you keep treating her like a child, she's going to keep rebelling against you," Stefan said.

Damon snorted. "What do you know brother?"

"I know that she's much stronger than you give her credit for and she's very independant. But I also know, she's totally and completely in love with you."

Damon rolled his eyes and snorted. "Tell me something I don't know?"

"Damon, I'm being serious here," Stefan sighed. "Not that you know how to be serious."

He glared at his brother. "I'm as serious as a heart attack."

Vella was about to walk towards the bathroom again when Stefan opened his mouth again.

"Are you trying to drive her away?"

Vella heard the low growl developing in Damon's chest. She thought she should go interrupt but she found herself wanting to stand still to listen.

"Shut up Stefan!" he snarled. "You don't know her like I do."

"That might be true, but I know her well enough to know that you're being stupid."

Damon laughed dryly. "Seriously, Stefan. I'm not sure you're the one I should be taking love advice from."

Stefan shuffled his feet for a moment. "She needs support Damon. She needs you to trust her. And most of all, she needs you to tell her the truth."

Damon laughed again incredulously. "Like you should be speaking about truth, brother? I'm sure Elena would think differently."

Vella heard Stefan sigh and walk into the kitchen. That was her cue to fetch her watch from the bathroom. She did so quickly and quietly and went to return to the bedroom. As she turned towards that direction, Damon was standing there.

"Damon!" she shrieked breathlessly. "You startled me."

Damon looked at her in amusement, his smile getting bigger as he watched her face. "Sorry," he said and shrugged.

"Sure you are," she said and chuckled.

"We need to talk," he said seriously.

Vella nodded and followed him into their bedroom. She sat down on the bed and he sat beside her, looking stoic. That made her all the more suspicious.

Damon took Vella's hand in his. He began running his thumb over the top of her hand. "I will let you do this alone, but I have a couple of conditions."

Vella looked at him, waiting.

"First of all. You need to contact me at least once a day." Vella nodded and replied, "Of course." Damon smiled for a moment then pursed his lips. "If you get in trouble or need help, you have to let me know. I don't want you being brave."

"Or stupid?" Vella asked defensively, pulling her hand from his.

Damon sighed and rolled his eyes. "I knew you would go there. I don't think you're stupid, just brave and... foolish sometimes."

Vella crossed her arms angrily. "That's exactly what I said, stupid."

Damon threw his arms up in the air in frustration. "It doesn't mean the same thing."

Vella decided she wasn't going to argue with him. He had agreed and that was the most she could hope for. She got up from the bed and Damon grabbed her arm.

"Don't go," he begged quietly.

Vella ripped her arm from his hand, giving him an evil glare. "Don't go now? Or don't go to Raleigh?"

Damon looked at her apologetically. He didn't want to say what he felt, but he knew her well enough to not even attempt it.

"Both."

Vella looked at him with a look that said, stop trying to make me feel guilty. She really didn't want to be away from him, they were sitll newlyweds after all, but it needed to be done. She just hoped it wouldn't take too long to figure out.

Vella stood in front of him, reaching out to hold his face. She stared deeply into his beautiful blue eyes. "I don't want to do this Damon but I have to. All I want you to do is trust me. Trust that I can handle this."

Damon took a hold of her wrists, pushing her arms down quickly and pulling her towards him so she had to sit on his lap, straddling his legs. He pulled her body tight against his and began kissing her. She wanted to fight him at this moment, but her willpower had completely disappeared with this simple kiss. He wasn't fighting fair, she thought.

She did her best to push him away, but he wasn't letting go. He stopped kissing her and looked into her eyes. "I love you, Vella."

"I love you too, Damon," she said and laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

Damon wrapped his arms around her tightly, holding her. He didn't want to let go. "You know me too well, Vella. Sometimes I forget how well." Vella opened her eyes while he spoke. "Beneath all of my bravado, sarcasm and attitude, you know the real me. And right now I'm afraid. I'm afraid to lose you. I don't think I could..."

Vella reached her hand up to his mouth, lightly covering it. "Shh," she said then sat straight up looking into his eyes. "I'm not going anywhere. You can't get rid of me that easily."

Damon smiled lightly, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

"I promise nothing will happen to me," she smiled lightly. "How could I when I have you waiting at home for me?"

Damon smiled and this time the smile lit his eyes up. He grabbed her, a little more roughly than he had planned, and laid her on the bed. He got on top of her, kissing her passionately. It wasn't long before they were both naked, making love to each other, neither of them wanting it to end.

Several hours later, Vella woke up. She was laying against Damon with her head on his chest. She smiled widely as she remembered how she ended up falling asleep with Damon this way. She wished she didn't need to get up, but she did. It was already getting late in the day and she had something to take care of.

Vella kissed his chest and moved to get up from the bed, when a hand reached out to pull her back towards the bed.

"Where are you going?" Damon whispered as pulled her close and kissed her deeply.

Vella pulled away slowly, smiling widely. "I have to go to the hospital and talk to Janine."

Damon's smile faded slowly from his face and there was a hardness in his eyes.

Vella smiled knowingly, brushing his cheek gently with the tips of her fingers. "I will be back soon," she said and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

Damon released his grip on her and watched her go. He laid in bed for a few minutes, his hands to his face in frustration. He took a few deep breaths to calm the storm that was raging inside him, before getting out of bed and heading down to the livingroom to get a drink.

Vella didn't stay long at the hospital. Just long enough to have her friend and former boss write a glowing recommendation for her. It was late and she wanted to get back to the house. She would be leaving early in the morning and she wanted to spend as much time as she could with Damon.

When she walked into the house, she sensed something, but she wasn't sure what. But as she walked into the livingroom, Stefan was there cleaning up broken glass and she knew what it was she sensed, Damon's anger.

Stefan looked up from his chore with a wrinkled forehead.

"Don't even say it Stefan, I know what you're going to say."

Stefan nodded his head. "I don't think you do."

"Really?"

Stefan nodded his head again, then sat on the couch and patted the seat beside him, beckoning her to sit down. "He's not here."

Against her better judgement, she sat down beside him, waiting to hear what she was expecting; that Damon was scared and worried about her.

"He's not just afraid something is going to happen to you. I think he's afraid that - you might not come back."

"What?"

Stefan looked at her as if it was paining him to speak. "He's insecure. He's afraid you will find someone better."

Vella stood up quickly. "What? You're kidding me?"

"I wish I was," he said sadly.

She began to pace a few steps forward and back over and over with her head down. She stopped after a minute to look at Stefan. "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Vella sighed, frustrated. "What can I do to make him realize I would never do that?"

Stefan pondered this a moment. "I'm not sure. Katherine messed with his head so badly I'm really surprised he was ever able to get past it."

"But you did." It was as much of a statement as it was a question.

"He was in love with her. The love I had for her wasn't real. It made it easier for me," Stefan sighed. "Damon is much more sensitive than he lets on."

"I know he is, Stefan," she said acidly.

"I will look after him while you're gone. Please keep in touch."

Vella watched his face as he spoke. She could see there was much more meaning behind what he was saying, Stefan would be worried too and keeping in touch would be as much for him as it would be for his brother's peace of mind. It was nice, but she wasn't thinking about that right now. She was too worried about Damon.

Vella went upstairs and paced around the bedroom for a short while. She kept running Stefan's words through her head over and over. The more she thought of it, the more she realized it was true, whether she wanted to deny it or not. There were times when Damon seemed controlling, but that wasn't it, he was insecure. As much as she told herself it was Katherine's fault, she had to shoulder some of the responsibility as well. She had been with Damon long enough for these feelings to fade, but they hadn't, so it must be her fault for not making him feel secure.

She sat down on the bed, trying not to feel guilty, when Damon walked in. He had such a long face, it made her feel even worse than she already did. In seconds, she crossed the space between them, throwing her arms around him, holding him as tightly as she could.

"I don't know how to make you feel better about this, Damon. Please tell me how?" she pleaded desperately.

Damon squeezed her tightly, lowering his head so his lips were beside her ear. "You just did," he whispered gently.

Tears began to flow down Vella's face. They were tears of happiness as well as tears of relief. The task ahead of her was going to be difficult enough without having to worry about Damon.

"I promised. Don't you forget that," she whispered.

Vella left for North Carolina early the next morning. It was a few hours drive from Mystic Falls to Raleigh, but she drove quickly.

The first thing she did in Raleigh, was find the hospital that Ron had been at when he was in the car accident. They didn't have any openings for nurses, but they knew of some clinics looking for nurses. While she was there, she compelled a few people and learned which doctor was claiming to have a mystery cure, his name was Dr. Clark.

After some studying at her hotel later that evening, she learned as much as she could about the clinic and the doctor in question. She was quite sure she would be able to get a job there, it seemed there was always openings for nurses. It probably should have made Vella nervous, but it only made her more determined to find out what was going on.

Vella called Damon, as she promised. He didn't have much to say but she could tell he was happy to hear her voice. He made her talk about anything and everything, she figured he just wanted to hear her voice. It had only been since the morning, but to Damon it was already an eternity.

The next morning, Vella made her way to Doctor Clark's clinic for a job interview. The clinic was unassuming, though Vella wondered what she had been expecting, Frankenstein's castle. She laughed at the thought.

The interview went pretty much how she imagined. There was nothing strange or worrisome. With the glowing recommendation's from her boss, she was sure to get in. The only problem had come when she was asked why she was in town. She had already thought of an excuse, but thinking about it was painful. She hoped she made it sound authentic.

As she sat in her hotel room waiting for a call, she kept thinking back to the interview.

"So what brings you to Raleigh, Mrs. Salvatore?" Doctor Clark inquired.

"It's Ms. Evans now," Vella said with a frown. "I needed to get away from my husband."

"I see," said the doctor. "Does this mean you are ready to work right away?"

"Yes. As soon as I find a job I can find a permanent residence."

Vella sighed heavily. She knew she had to do this but it wasn't making it any easier. She took out her cell and began sending dirty texts to Damon. It felt weird at first, but it made her feel much better. She called him later that night to hear his voice. He even promised to talk to her until she fell asleep with the phone in her hand. That would have been great, but as she was talking, she realized she was hungry. She said her goodbyes to Damon and went out to hunt. She chastised herself for going so long without anything to eat. It was going to be hard enough to work around injured people without being hungry.

Vella got back to her hotel room and laid on her bed. She began to think about a time when she could be around blood with no problems. That was in the beginning but it was much more difficult now. She hadn't worked for quite awhile, so she wasn't often exposed to blood any longer, unless it was time to eat. She hoped she would still be able to handle it. She was full and content now, which made it easy for her to doze off without realizing she was tired.

Vella was awakened by her phone ringing. It took her a moment to get her bearings in this strange room, but she found her phone lying on the floor beside the night stand.

"Hello?" she mumbled.

"Ms. Evans. I hope I'm not calling too early." It was Doctor Clark.

Vella looked at her watch. It was seven a.m. "No, of course not."

"I normally wouldn't call so early but I was hoping you could start right away. I'm short handed today."

"Oh, of course I could," she replied in surprise. "Just give me time to shower and I will be right there."

"Absolutely. And thank you for saving my hide today," he chuckled slightly.

"No problem. See you soon."

"Bye."

Vella sighed and stretched. She couldn't believe how quick and easy this was becoming. She had to hope that she wouldn't get too complacent and let something slip. She jumped in the shower, where her worries followed her.

When she was finished, she got dressed and sent a quick text to Damon, she wasn't sure when she would be home and the last thing she wanted him to do was worry about her.

Vella arrived at the clinic about eight. She was given scrubs and shown where she could change. She couldn't put her finger on it, but the atmosphere inside the clinic felt strange. If she hadn't known there was something strange going on, she might have pushed it out of her head and chalked it up to her imagination, but that wasn't happening.

The day seemed to go by pretty quickly considering how strange Vella felt. The work was easy enough, in fact she found she missed being a nurse and thought she might just go back to work when she got home.

The only thing Vella found suspicious the whole day, was a doorway that only a few people were allowed in. The only way to get in was with a key card and a password. She intended on getting in that room at some point, but first she needed to find out more.

By seven o'clock that evening, Vella was exhausted and ready to leave. She bid farewell to the doctor and her co-workers and went back to her hotel room. She called Damon and then went hunting. It was only nine o'clock when she found she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer.

A/N: Sorry it took so long for this chapter, i kept getting sidetracked lol. I want to thank everyone who has sent me reviews, I appreciate each and every one of them.

Thanks for reading!