Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Twilight or Vampire Diaries. Those rights are reserved for Stephanie Myer and L.J. Smith. Thank you.

Writer's Notes: I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far, let me know what you think with some reviews! As always, I appreciate all the support, and look forward to writing every week for you guys. Don't forget to follow and favorite and I'll see you at the next chapter!

"This is an amazing apartment." Caroline said as she walked through the door, holding coffee for herself and for Bella.

Bella took the coffee. "Thanks. So, all the rooms are furnished." She said and led her to the hall where the rooms were. "That one is mine, this is Alice's, and then these two." She opened a door. The king-sized bed was situated perfect in the room. "Has a bathroom, and a nice size walk-in closet. Alice is so extra, so."

Caroline was just in shock. "I don't think I've ever seen a place this nice besides your house in Mystic Falls." She murmured. "Are you sure I can stay here? What about rent, we should- "

"Don't worry about rent." Bella said, sipping her coffee. "Mom paid for the year. She got a better discounted price that way."

"I forget sometimes, how rich you actually are."

"I am not rich. My parents are." Bella pointed out.

Caroline smiled. "Where did I luck out finding friends like you and Alice?"

Bella shrugged. "I like to think that I found you. I don't think I would be the person I am without you, or Alice for that matter…or Elena."

Caroline nodded, a sad smile crossing her face. It was hard to believe that Elena was gone. She was so young and full of life, and she was taken from the Earth entirely too soon. That's what made her decide that the campus just wasn't safe enough to stay on permanently. "So, can I move my stuff in this week?"

"Sure. You have the code; I'll give you the backup key. You can use my car if you like. I don't have to be anywhere. I was going to organize the study a little more." Bella mentioned.

Caroline shook her head. "I have my Prius. I should be okay." She went and hugged Bella. "Thank you so much for this."

"Of course, best friends." Bella said and watched Caroline leave, to go fetch some of her things.

Bella sighed, taking a deep drink of her coffee, and went to the study. It was still empty. They needed books, and things to fill in. She pulled her phone out and googled a used bookstore nearby. The apartment was situated in the city, so she could walk to the bookshop. It was still cold out, but it hadn't started snowing. Christmas was in a week, and then New Years her family would be back from vacation. She wanted to make sure everything looked amazing for when they came to see the apartment. She went to her room, dressing warm, and then decided maybe she should take the car in case she had to carry a bunch of things back.

At the bookstore, she was impressed by the sheer number of books they had on their shelves. She pushed around the metal cart they had available for those that needed them. Each section was titled, which made it easier for her to find some interested books. She reached up to grab a book at the same time someone else did, and she looked over. "Oh, Professor Mikaelson."

Elijah smiled at Bella. "Doing some historical reading on your break?" He withdrew his hand.

"I just got a new apartment, and so I was book shopping for the study." She explained.

"Ah, makes sense. That's a great book. Fortunately, there are two of them," He smiled and pulled the books down, and handed her one.

"Thank you. Oh, the paper that is due in 3 weeks, I've got a really rough draft of it, would you mind if I sent it to you to make sure I'm on the right track? That's if you're not super busy."

Elijah nodded. "Of course. You know you can always run stuff by me. You're doing your topic on the Constantine the Great, correct?"

"Correct." Bella said with a nod.

Elijah paused a moment, looking back at the shelves. "I just saw a book…" He murmured. He found what he was looking for and pulled it from the shelf. The Emperor Constantine. He handed it to her. "I've actually read this, and Michael Grant does a great job." He said with a smile. He glanced at his watch. "I have lunch with my brother and his partner, so send me that rough draft, I'll look over it, and get back to you. Have a great break, Bella." He said, patting her shoulder and taking his book to the front to check out.

Bella smiled, looking down at the book. It inspired her to look for other great historical texts. She didn't realize how much she would find all of it interesting. She shopped for a few hours, amassing a large collection of books by this point. She went down one aisle and bumped into a man. "Oh, I'm sorry."

The man smiled at her his hair was dark from, shaggy on top, and his eyes were a deep forest green. His brows were dark to match his hair, and his face wore a scruffy goatee, beard, but was still neatly kept. "It's quite alright." His voice was smooth, and the smile on his face showed that he was friendly.

Bella smiled. "You look familiar."

"Hmm. Perhaps, I work at Whitmore, are you a student?"

"I am. What do you do?"

"I'm a professor."

Bella blinked. "You're really young."

The man laughed a little. "Thank you."

"What do you teach?"

"Mythology, Legend, and Lore." He supplied. "Atticus Shane," he introduced, reaching a hand out.

Bella shook it and smiled. "That's interesting. You're in the history building right? With Professor Mikaelson and Saltzman?"

Atticus smiled, nodding. "Yes, they are my comrades so to speak."

Bella nodded. "That's pretty cool. I have both of them as professors."

"They are wonderful. What's your major?"

"History."

"Ah, so I should be seeing you in one of my classes, eventually."

Bella nodded. "More than likely." Her phone dinged and she looked at it. It was just Alice teasing her about being caught in bed with a man. "Well," she looked back up at him. "It was nice meeting you Professor Shane. I look forward to taking you class someday. Have a great break." She said and moved on.

Atticus smiled, watching her push her overfilled cart of books to the front to check out. From what he already knew, she was exquisite.

Bella got back to the apartment, and it took her five trips to heave all the books upstairs. She decided to play some music off Spotify to just have some background noise. Soft classical music played as she sorted the books she just bought. She was hoping that she would get to read all of them one day, she bought a bunch just for filler for the shelves, just so it looked full.

She stopped around four, to go out and grab some food. She knew that they needed groceries, so she shopped around, buying necessities. She did know how to cook well, and so she looked forward to cooking more. Fast food, or take out was just bad for you all the time. She made it back to her apartment before it got too dark. It was starting to feel really cold outside, and she thought maybe it would actually snow soon. She put away the groceries, and fixed herself some herbal tea, when her phone rang.

She grabbed it from the counter, smiling at Damon's name flashing across the screen. "Hello." She her voice lilted a little with husk, just to drive into his senses.

"Hmm. Do you always answer the phone like that?" He teased.

"Maybe." Bella sipped her tea, testing the temperature.

"Offer still stand?"

"Of course." Bella answered.

Damon paused a moment. "You are dangerous, you know that?"

Bella smiled. "I didn't know, but I'm sure you're going to tell me about it when you get here. Be careful." She said and hung up.

Damon pulled up at her apartment and got out, taking the elevator up. He knocked on her door, leaning against the wall, waiting for her to answer. When she did, he smiled at her. She was wearing just a black silk robe. His eyes dilated just at the sight of her. He walked in, shutting the door behind him. His mouth moved to hers, hungry for her. He hoisted her up, her legs wrapping around his waist, and he carried her to her bed. He lay her down smoothly, kissing her briefly, before standing. He shrugged his jacket off, and then moved over to her dresser, taking his weapon and other gear off, and set it there and started unbuttoning his shirt.

Bella watched him, her heartbeat stuttering as she watched him slowly undress. "You are tortuous." She murmured.

"Not as tortuous as thinking about you being naked all day. I couldn't wait to go off duty." Damon smiled and leaned in, kissing her, while unsnapping his pants. Bella's hands untied her robe and let it fall away, her naked body already ready for him to come play.

Damon took his time, teasing her gently, and watching her as the pleasure rolled over her. She looked beautiful, writhing in the sheets as his hands, and mouth drove her over her edge. When she rolled through her first orgasm, she sat up, straddling his lap and came down over him, riding him as his mouth suckled at her throat, and then her breast. She moaned, picking up her pace, feeling every inch of him was just glorious. Then he was splitting open, burying his face in her hair as he erupted. Both were panting, sitting there, not moving as the wave of ecstasy washed over them.

They moved finally, detangling, only to tangle together, laying down. His arms were around her, and she felt safe, safe to lay here next to him, and snuggle close. After a few moments, her phone vibrated. He reached over and grabbed her phone for her since she couldn't reach from her position.

She smiled. "Thank you." She murmured and opened her messages.

[Caroline:] Sex is that amazing huh, had me hot over here. ; )

Bella sighed. "Care is here," and shook her head. "I'm very loud apparently."

"Hmm, baby you are like a siren." He said and kissed her softly.

Bella kissed him back, her mouth reaching farther, diving in deeper, drinking him in. Damon's phone started ringing, and he drew back.

"Hmm. Sorry." He said and reached and grabbed his phone he set down on the nightstand. "Salvatore," he answered.

"I know your off duty, but your partner has been shot. We're rushing him to Mckinney General." Mason Lockwood's voice echoed into the phone.

Damon got out of bed quickly. "Where? How long ago?"

"On campus, he was walking to his car after meeting with the Dean. He was off-duty too, this was about ten minutes ago." Mason relayed.

Damon zipped his pants and looked over to Bella, who was helping gather his clothes for him and helped him shrug his shirt back on. "I'm on my way. Tape off the scene on campus, roll CSU, and I want status reports on his condition every twenty minutes."

"Copy." Mason said and hung up.

Damon looked at Bella. "I have to go."

"I know."

"It's Klaus. He was shot."

Bella gasped. "What? I'm coming with you."

"No, I have to go to the scene. You need to stay here." Damon insisted.

"I'll go to the hospital, and wait. Damon, please." Bella looked at him pleadingly.

Damon closed his eyes. "Okay. If you must go to the hospital, you can go, but stay away from the campus." He said and then he kissed her quickly before putting his weapon and badge back on.

Bella pulled on clothes quickly as he got his gear on, and shoes and headed out the door at the same time.

Caroline was in the kitchen and looked over at the sudden commotion of Damon and Bella rushing out of the back bedroom. "Bell- "

"Care I'll text you later, I've got to go." Bella said, rushing towards the door. "Stay away from the campus, and stay here. "She said and opened the front door and rushed down to her car. She looked at Damon. "Please be careful."

Damon moved to her quickly, kissing her again. "I will. You be careful." He said and then he moved to his car and ducked in. He turned on his lights, and rushed over towards the campus.

[Mckinney General]

Bella rushed into the waiting room, she saw a couple police officers, but she went to the nurses' station. "Klaus Mikaelson." She said, rushed.

The nurse looked up at her, and then down at the computer. "He's in emergency surgery. Are you family?"

"He's the detective that…worked my case when I came here…. a few months ago, for assault." Bella murmured, running a hand through her hair. "He's important to me."

The nurse nodded. "I understand. He's going to be in surgery for a while- "

"Bella," Mason Lockwood called to her and she turned to look at him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just. He was shot?"

"Yeah, how did you know…" Mason looked at her confused.

Bella's phone rang. "Caroline, I can't talk right now- "She paused. "What?"

"Alice called me, she said that they're coming back early. She couldn't reach you. The surrogate is having issues, and they are cutting the vacation short."

"Oh no, are they taking her to Mystic Falls General?"

"I don't know. But I wanted to tell you. You ran out of here. What's going on?"

"Detective Mikaelson was shot. Oh god, I need to call Kol." Bella just realized.

Caroline was quiet a moment. "Okay, I'll call Kol. Are you at the hospital now?"

"Yes."

"Okay, I'll call Kol. Don't worry about anything." Caroline said and hung up.

Bella just brushed her hands over her face. "Why is everything crumbling around me." She said it out loud, not thinking.

"Come sit," Mason said and steered Bella over to a chair in the waiting area.

Bella's phone vibrated again, Damon's name flashing across her screen. "Hello."

"Are you at the hospital?"

"I am, he's in surgery. Do you know what happened?" Bella ran a hand through her hair.

Damon sighed. "I don't know, and if I do find out, I can't release information about an ongoing case."

Bella nodded. "You're right, I'm sorry. I forget that you're a cop sometimes." She sighed. "Caroline is calling Kol. You should call Professor Mikaelson."

"I've already called Elijah. I forgot about Kol. Tell Caroline thank you."

"Please be careful." Bella's voice wavered a bit.

Damon was quiet a couple moments. "You should go home and rest too. You can't stay at the hospital all night."

"I know, but…I just want to be here. Klaus has helped me so much, and I just…I've grown attached to the people in my life."

"I know. I'll be at the hospital in a bit. CSU just got here, and I'm having them comb the scene. Bella," Damon paused.

"Yes?"

"I'm really sorry." Damon murmured, and then hung up.

Bella wiped her face, sighing.

An hour went by, and there was no update. Kol and Elijah were at the hospital now, waiting like everyone else was waiting. Other cops made it to wait as well. When a brother in blue went down, it was like everyone gravitated towards him.

Another hour went by and Damon walked through the doors, Bella was holding coffee, drinking it slowly, and she looked up. She stood, setting her coffee down, and Damon went straight to her. He pulled her into his arms gently, and hugged her. Her head rested on his chest.

Mason watched Damon handle Bella, gentle, intimately. It raised suspicion in him, and he knew his friend was in deep with Bella.

"No word?" Damon asked Mason, looking straight at him.

"Nothing yet. He's been in surgery two and half hours." Mason relayed.

Damon nodded, and looked at his watch. It was nearing one in the morning now. "Bella," he murmured, and tilted her head up. "Why don't- "

"I'm not leaving until I know." Bella said, her voice quiet.

"Okay," Damon sighed, and brushed a hand over her hair, and kissed the top of her head. He didn't care who saw, and he could care less about what they were thinking. He cared about her, and he wasn't going to be ashamed of that.

Bella took a step back, wiped her face. "Thank you." She murmured and moved to pick up her coffee.

Damon sighed, and looked over towards the nurse's desk. He walked over. "Hey, excuse me. Klaus Mikaelson, I'm his partner."

The nurse nodded. "I'll call and ask." She picked up the phone, dialed something and waited. "I'm checking on the status of Klaus Mikaelson." She paused, listening, and then she nodded. "Okay thank you." She hung up. "He's being moved to recovery. They got the bullet out, and repaired his shoulder. It'll be a couple hours before anyone can go back and see him."

Damon felt relief. "Thank you." He patted the desk and walked back over. "He just got out of surgery. They moved him to recovery. It's going to be a couple hours before he's awake probably."

Elijah and Kol's faces showed obvious relief and they hugged each other.

Mason patted Damon on his shoulder. "That's great man."

The other police officers cheered a little and everyone was hugging. Bella looked at Damon, tears coming to her eyes. Tears of relief.

Damon went to her. "Hey, he's okay. Let's get you home, get sleep then tomorrow come back."

Bella nodded, wiping her face. "I drove."

"I know. I'll drive you back." Damon said and looked over at Mason. "Can you drive my car to my house?"

"Thank you. I'm going to go get some tissue, I'll be right back." She wanted to wash her face and just collect herself.

Damon watched her walk off towards the bathroom and then looked back at Mason. "Here's my keys."

"Are you seeing each other?" Mason asked point blank.

"We're not dating." Damon told the truth. They weren't an item.

Mason nodded. "Are you sleeping with her?"

"Yes." Damon wasn't going to lie. "And I care about her."

"She's a victim."

"She's grown beyond that."

"She's a target in the case we're on. I hope you know what you're doing." Mason said lowly.

Damon sighed. "I never know what I'm doing. I tried….to not get involved." He ran a hand over his face.

Mason nodded. "Well, I'm not going to turn you in or anything man, but maybe it's something you should talk to the chief about. There are ways to go around this."

"We're not in a relationship." Damon reiterated.

"So. Looks like it could go that way. Protect yourself, protect her." Mason advised. "Be careful man." He said and then he walked outside.

Bella returned from the bathroom, feeling a little better. "Thank you for driving me back home." She didn't realize exactly how tired she felt.

Damon nodded, walking with her outside to her car. "He'll be okay."

They got back to Bella's apartment, and went up the elevator. Bella put in her code on the door and walked in. Caroline was still awake, and sitting on the couch.

"Hey, is everything okay?" Caroline stood then.

"He's out of surgery and is in recovery, still sleeping," Bella relayed. "Thank you for calling Kol earlier."

"No problem." Her blue eyes softened as she looked at her friend. "Go get some rest. I'll go to the airport in the morning to get Alice."

Bella nodded. "Thank you." She walked back to her room, and Damon followed her. "I think I'm going to shower." She murmured, and walked towards the bathroom, and looked back. "Come on." She invited.

Damon took his gear off and set it where he normally sat it and followed her into the bathroom. She started the shower and took her clothes off, stepping in. Damon followed suit, stepping in behind her, he drew her into his arms, and she leaned against him.

"Damon," She murmured, enjoying the feel of leaning against him, and the hot water rushing over them.

"Hmm?"

"I'm getting used to you being here...I don't want to hold you back." She knew that he was older, more experienced. His life was vastly different from hers, and she just felt like maybe she was holding him back. She thought back at the hospital. He was so concerned about her, hugged her, kissed her head while other officers were standing around. She didn't want to be the one to get him in trouble.

Damon turned her to face him. "You're not holding me back from anything. Why would you think that you were?"

"I'm 19." Bella murmured.

"Is that supposed to make me…think differently? Bella, your age doesn't hold me back."

"Yeah, but you have your life together, I don't, and I just feel like maybe you're just staying here because you feel sorry for me, and- "

Damon shook his head and then kissed her softly. "You're not holding me back. I don't have my life fully together. What do you think you're holding me back from?"

"A family."

Damon's eyes softened. "Bella…" he murmured and sighed. "I'm not thinking about those things right now. Do you actually know how old I am?"

Bella realized that she didn't actually know. Damon was young, she knew that, but he wasn't older than 30.

"Twenty-four." Damon said. "Does that make you feel better?"

Bella just leaned against him. "I like this comfort."

"I do too. What is it you're wanting Bella…"? He murmured.

"Permanence. That's weird, isn't it."

"Not weird. Do you want us to be something more? More than what we're doing now?"

Bella blushed. Maybe she did. Klaus got shot tonight, and she worried for him, but then she worried about Damon. If he got shot, she would be devastated. Especially if he got shot before, she had a chance to tell him how she was feeling. How magical she felt when she was with him. How she never wanted him to be away. She wanted him to come home to her, every night. It was a strange feeling to have. "I do…I know it's selfish for me to- "

Damon kissed her again, this time it was more passionate, his arms holding her close to him, their slick, naked bodies pressed together. "It's not selfish for you to want there to be more. It's selfish of me to want it too…"

"How…"

"I'm a detective Bella, what if I get shot in the line of duty, and I don't make it? It wouldn't be fair to put that on you."

"I want that. I want you, Damon. There's not going to be anyone else, that will make me feel the way you do." Bella said, her dark eyes staring up into his beautiful, piercing blue ones.

Damon studied her, the water sounding like rain as it fell over them. "You're sure."

"I'm sure. Damon, I don't want to miss the opportunity to tell you how I feel. Tonight…I realized that while waiting in the hospital, to know if Klaus was okay. I thought about you, and thought about all the things I haven't said, or done. I want to be with you. I know that it makes things hard. You're…. on my case, and I'm just a victim in your eyes, but- "

"Bella, I want you too, okay?" His hands framed her face. "I want all of this too. I'm not going anywhere. I'm yours." He murmured, and brushed his mouth down over hers. The kiss ignited her, her heart thundering in her chest as his hands moved her body. He pinned her to the shower wall, hoisting her up and entered her, pushing deep inside her, repeatedly, until both met their end.

After the shower they snuggled together on the bed, sleep taking both of them quickly.

[The next Morning]

Damon's phone buzzed, ringing on the nightstand, and he leaned over and grabbed it. "Salvatore," he said, answered with a sleep filled voice.

"Hey man…I uh…got shot. I woke you, didn't I?" Klaus laughed a little.

"You're awake man, that's good." Damon sat up in the bed, the blanket falling to his waist. "It's six am now, huh. I should be getting up anyways." He spoke quietly, so he wouldn't disturb Bella.

"You're talking hushed. Are you not at home?"

"I'm not." Damon said, and got out of bed and moved around, getting his clothes on.

Klaus could hear the jingle of Damon's buckle. "You're with a woman. My bad, mate."

"It's fine. I'm coming to the hospital to see you in a bit if you're feeling up to visitors."

Bella stirred, feeling the emptiness in the bed. She blinked looking around, seeing Damon getting dressed. "Hmm? You have to leave."

Damon looked over. "Oh, I'm sorry babe, I woke you." He murmured.

"Babe?"

"Uh, I'm going to see Klaus at the hospital after I run home and change." Damon murmured to her, walking over.

"You don't have your car remember."

Damon blinked. "Oh right."

Bella smiled. "I'll get dressed."

"Is that Bella?" Klaus asked, stunned.

"Yes, we're going to see you at the hospital. I'll talk to you then man." Damon said and hung up, blowing out a breath.

Bella was beautifully naked, gathering her clothes to dress. She looked over at him, admiring her and she blushed. "What?"

"You're gorgeous." Damon said with a smile. "I'm going to make some coffee." He said and left her to get dressed. If he didn't leave, then he was going to have to get undressed all over again, and redressed.

He went to the kitchen, and started the espresso machine. It was really fancy, but he had seen one like this before. It could make coffee and espresso, which was a pretty cool thing to have.

Caroline was already up, dressed, make-up, everything. "Oh, morning." She said, walking into the kitchen, and opening the fridge and grabbing water.

"Morning." He said, leaning against the counter, his gun was in shoulder holster and his badge clipped to his belt.

Caroline studied him a bit. "How long have you been a detective?"

"Two years." Damon said.

"That's not long. What did you do before that?"

"Navy. Four years." Damon answered simply.

Caroline nodded. "Wow, I didn't realize that."

Bella walked out of the bedroom, coming into the kitchen, right as the coffee was finished. "Hey Care, you're sure you can get Alice from the Airport? Mom and dad are meeting Anna at the hospital to get checked out. Eddie and Em didn't come back from Italy this flight since they got there late, and they were smoothing things out with the rental place, and Rose has a model thing."

"Yes, her flight lands at eight, I will be there to get her and bring her back home." Caroline said with a nod.

Bella nodded, and then pulled her wallet out and handed Caroline a card. "I don't know when I'll be back today, but Alice's card was lost while in Italy, and so she wants shopping done. Tell her not to blow fifty grand this time so fast. Oh, and groceries. She likes the sparkly water."

Caroline took the card, sort of dumbfounded that Alice could spend that much in a day. "Okay."

"Yes, you can shop too. Love you Care, thank you so much." Bella hugged her, and then grabbed the coffee that Damon poured her. "I'll see you later okay."

"Okay, love you too, be careful." Caroline said as Damon and Bella ducked out the door.

They got into Bella's car, Damon driving. "Your sister can really spend fifty thousand dollars in a day?"

"Yes. Yes, she can."

"I don't think I ever asked exactly how…well off your family was." Damon said with a frown.

Bella looked over at Damon. "I'm pretty sure, you might not want to know. My mom has inheritance from her family, and so does my dad. They found each other while in private school. Both are doctors. I cringe when I hear how much money they do have." Bella murmured, and sipped her coffee.

"Like millions rich?"

"Something like that," Bella offered a small smile and then frowned. "Wait, does that bother you?"

"No, no it doesn't, I just don't want you to think that I'm here…with you because of you know."

Bella raised a brow. "Damon. I know you better than that."

Damon smiled at her. "Thank you." He pulled up at his house. "I'm just going to change my shirt really." He said and kissed her cheek.

Bella nodded, and sipped on her coffee more. She felt exhausted, but she didn't want to show it. Her phone buzzed. Emmett. "Hey Em."

"Are you picking Aly up from the airport?"

"Oh, no. Caroline is. I'm heading to the hospital right now."

"What? Why? Are you hurt?"

Bella shook her head. "No, but Klaus Mikaelson was shot last night. You know the detective on my case, and Kol's brother. He's awake today, and coherent, so Damon and I are going to see him at the hospital." She explained.

Emmett was quiet a moment. "Who is Damon?"

"Uh, my boyfriend, Em." Bella said and watched Damon walk over and get in the car.

"Boyfriend? When did this happen?" Emmett's voice was slightly raised.

Bella sighed. "I'm not talking about this with you over the phone. I'm a grown woman, please treat me like one. You and Eddie be safe, and I'll see you guys whenever you get back." She hung up, not wanted to hear anything else.

Damon looked at her. "Big brother?"

"Yes." She sighed.

Damon only nodded and backed out of his driveway and headed to the hospital.

[McKinney General]

Klaus was awake when they got there. Kol and Elijah had just left and so it was just Damon and Bella right now.

"Hey, you know that getting shot really hurts?" Klaus said when he saw Damon. "Wait, you do."

Damon smiled. "Roles are reversed now, aren't they?" He fist-bumped Klaus. "How are you feeling?"

Klaus sighed. "Tired. I fired back, I hit him. I know I did. He tagged me right in my shoulder. I wasn't wearing a vest, there was no reason to wear a vest."

"We found the blood. Still no match in CODUS." Damon said. "Do you remember what he may have looked like?"

"It was really dark. He was hooded. He was not very tall, I'm taller. He was a good 30 meters away at first. He said my name." Klaus said. "but he was using a voice changer."

Damon frowned and looked at Bella and she nodded.

"Wait, Bella, did he talk to you before?"

Bella shook her head and then sighed, looking at Damon. "The night of the fundraiser. After….after Damon left that night, he assaulted me again. Raped me, for…I'm not sure how long he was there, he used something like chloroform to make me pass back out. He spoke before he knocked me out, and he was using at voice changer."

"Why didn't you report it? Bella, we may have been able to pull video feed-"

"Because there was evidence of me and her in the hotel. Together, intimately. She didn't…want to implicate me." Damon said, the small bit of anger showing in his voice. "I just found out about this too. I told her I didn't care about that, and-"

Klaus looked at Damon. "You are sleeping together, I thought that maybe I misheard over the phone. Damon…"

"I know. I'm recusing myself from the case. I texted the chief. Lockwood is handling most of it, since you've been shot."

"How did the chief respond?"

Damon sighed. "He didn't really respond. He was just like, okay, thanks for reporting this, and Lockwood has lead. Watch over her, and be careful. That was it."

"So…not in trouble?" Klaus said.

"No, I'm not in trouble. I'm not breaking any real policies or rules. It's just unethical." Damon said and looked at her. "We made it official. We're not just…sleeping together, we're more than that."

Klaus nodded, swallowing, feeling somewhat disappointed. "Well, I have your back. Congrats both of you. Damon, you deserve this happiness. So, do you Bella."

Bella smiled, hugging her arms around her. "And I uh…want to apologize about…the fundraiser as well, I was…not feeling quite myself."

Klaus waved his good hand. "It's fine. I'm no dwelling on it, and neither should you."

"So, when are you getting out of here?" Damon asked.

"Couple days. Elijah is having me crash at his loft, until I'm in a better position to take care of myself, which honestly, it's just my shoulder, but still. He worries." Klaus said. "Then I'll ride the desk until the doctor clears me to be in the field again, you know the drill. With last year."

"What happened last year?" Bella asked.

Damon looked at her. "I was shot last year. Went into my armpit and out the back. Through and through."

"What? I didn't know." Bella looked concerned.

"I'm fine. It was a kid that shot me, he was no older than twelve at the least. It was on the anniversary of getting my shield. I came straight into the department out of the military. Took me a month to get my shield. Made this son of a bitch jealous." He smiled at his partner. "The kid was clearly scared, fending for himself and his younger sister in the streets. He was afraid of cops. I imagine something bad happened to him in the past. I uh, underestimated that he would actually shoot me."

"What happened to the kid?" Bella asked.

Damon and Klaus looked at each other. "He's dead."

"Why?"

"Because I shot him." Damon said, his voice wavering a bit. "It's an automatic reflex for us, we're being shot at, we shoot back, it's drilled into us. It was drilled into me in the Navy as well. I was…special forces." He explained.

Bella frowned. "I'm sorry."

Damon shook his head. "I processed it. I killed a kid, and that ate at me for a bit, but I don't like to think about it now. Regardless of age, he aimed his gun with intent, I just…didn't think a kid would…not here in the states anyways." His phone rang and he pulled it from his pocket immediately. "Salvatore."

"Hey, the shooter that shot Klaus is still at large, but we did have CSU run the blood through for other tests." Mason's voice sounded in his ear.

"Really? Did they find anything conclusive?"

"They did. Whoever it is, is a male, and he's sick."

"Sick?" Damon asked confused. "Sick how?"

"Cancer, they're thinking or possibly some sort of an autoimmune disorder that affects the white blood cells."

Damon looked at Klaus. "Do we have a list of students that have any auto immunity disorders?"

Mason sighed. "Not yet. The Dean can't release detailed medical records of students first off, but the other thing is, we're assuming it's a student. It's possible it's a professor, or other staff."

"Yeah, you're right. Okay, that's good stuff. I'm not on the case anymore but-"

"Chief told me. I figured you would do the right thing, but I don't care about that. I care about your knowledge and experience. I need you to keep on the case, just don't talk about it with the chief."

Damon nodded. "Copy that."

"Tell Klaus, I'll drop by later. Bring him some real food, for now, I'm heading back out to the crime scene. I'm still looking for the casing you couldn't find last night." Mason said and then hung up.

Damon looked at Klaus. "Lockwood said he's bring you real food later."

"What's going on?" Klaus asked, knowing that there was more.

"Whoever shot you, has an autoimmune disorder, or cancer, or something like that, and they're definitely male." Damon relayed.

Bella thought about people she knew. "There are at least six kids I know of, that have some sort of disorder." She said and Klaus and Damon looked at her. "What? People forget I'm around sometimes, and talk freely."

"Do you know their names?"

"Yeah, Mike Newton, Sophomore, he's got Lupus. Mohinder Ahuja, Junior, also Lupus, Sean O'Connell Grave's disease, Junior, Tony Lupine has Celiac disease, also a Junior, Daniel Warren is a freshman and has Sjogren's syndrome, and my brother, Edward. He's diabetic. But Edward wouldn't do any of those things. Especially to me. He's also in Italy right now, and Klaus was shot last night." She pointed out.

Damon was writing things down. "Do you cross paths with any of these guys?"

"Uh, Daniel is in Elijah's class with me, and Mike Newton graduated from Mystic Falls ahead of me, and had a crush on me his senior year. We went to the movies a couple times. He's really not a bad guy. He's the nervous type."

Damon continued writing. "That's good. Out of all the students at Whitmore though, there must be more that have autoimmune disorders, or one's that have cancer."

"Ah cancer, Riley Biers. He's in remission though, Leukemia. He's a freshman as well. He's a theater major like Alice." Bella supplied.

"How do you know all of this?" Damon asked, raising a brow.

"Weird fact about me, my memory is weird, and I have almost perfect recall." Bella explained.

Damon looked at Klaus, who was just grinning. "I'll be damned. She would make an excellent detective." Klaus said, still smiling.

Damon smiled back. "Yeah, she would."

Bella shook her head. "Nope, I actually don't like guns."

"You're dating a cop love." Klaus pointed out.

"No that's fine, I just don't want to hold one. I think I might faint, honestly." Bella admitted. "I want to be a Historian actually. Work archival material or dive in deeper into Mythology and lore."

Damon smiled. "With your memory, you make an exceptional historian." He closed his notebook, putting it back in his pocket and looked at Klaus. "Well, is there anything that you need right now? I can get you some ice chips, or something."

Klaus shook his head. "No, I'm fine. Are you on duty today?"

"Actually, no. Chief told me to take a few days, since you got shot. Process it. See the counselor if I need."

Klaus nodded. "Well, I think I might rest some before more of the guys make it in. I am feeling tired. It's the morphine."

Damon nodded. "Yeah, you get rest. Call me if you need something. I'm going to be around."

Klaus nodded. "Thanks mate…. watch out for her."

"I will." Damon said.

Bella looked at Klaus, walking over and then leaning in and kissing his forehead. "Rest and if you get tired of Elijah, I have a spare room at the apartment." She smiled.

Klaus nodded, and then watched his best friend, and the woman who stirred his heartstrings, leave.