Hey guys! Guess who just graduated with a college degree! Thank ya'll so much for your patience with me during this time; it was a stressful semester!

Enjoy the chapter! Working on the next one, so I will hopefully have it up soon after Christmas!

Have a safe and happy holiday!


Stefan had pulled up outside with a black SUV shortly after Damon made the call. He had given him a short explanation, so Stefan asked no questions when Elena came out of the house, carrying a sleepy child in her arms. Mason and Enzo would be by within the hour to do a full scope of the property. The thought was hardly a comfort as Damon grabbed the bags and locked the door behind Elena. It bothered him how much of what she had packed contained medicine and breathing equipment for the little girl. Children did not deserve this needless suffering.

Nadia had been confused when Elena first woke her up. But she told the girl that they had to take a little trip to a friend's house for a while, while her mommy was at work, which had at least roused her from the bed. It was strange to Damon, how much the child resembled Elena, down to the haunted look in those large brown eyes. However, there was also an undeniable bond of love between them. Nadia clung to her aunt with big yawns and complete trust, snuggling into her neck without giving Damon a second glance or questioning this sudden change in routine.

Elena chose to stay in the backseat with Nadia, keeping the girl in her lap as Damon drove them away from their home. Stefan would follow in his Camaro after the others had arrived. Thankfully the drive was short, and every dollar he had put into his security felt beyond worth it the moment Elena and her niece stepped over the threshold of his mansion.


"The bedrooms are upstairs," he said, leading Elena down the hall, to the winding staircase. She readjusted Nadia with a sigh at the sight of them, and Damon sat down the bags, "Perhaps we should trade?"

Not that he doubted her capabilities, but Elena was carrying more than the weight of the child at the moment, and her exhaustion was apparent by the dark circles forming beneath her eyes. Elena paused, glancing at Nadia, then him again, before leaning down and whispering to the girl.

"Nadia, sweetheart, we have to go upstairs now. My friend is going to carry you, but I'm right here, okay?" The girl nodded without even opening her eyes, clearly refusing to give up her sleep, and Elena kissed her head, "Okay."

With hesitance that Damon took no offense to, Elena offered the child up to him, moving carefully so that they could transfer her with as little jostling as possible. When she was settled against him, Nadia's small hand gripped the collar of his shirt and her head tucked beneath his chin. Such immediate ease in that simple gesture, despite the fact that he was a complete stranger to her, told him just how much faith she had in Elena. Her aunt's word alone, that he was a friend and was trustworthy, was enough to make the girl feel safe with him. He envied her that confidence, and felt unworthy of it.

There was such a delicateness to the way her slight weight felt in his arms that it clenched at something in Damon's chest, and his hold on the girl tightened. Such a precious, fragile thing she was and like Elena, like himself, she had been dealt a shitty hand in life. With renewed purpose, he reached down and lifted one of the bags onto his shoulder, holding Nadia steadily against the other. Elena squeezed his arm in gratitude before picking up the others and following him up the stairs.

The estate home was massive; with more rooms than he had honestly spent any time in, but there was one guest room right down the hall from his own, and that is where he took Nadia. Elena dropped the bags at the foot of the full size bed, and moved around him to pull back the blanket. He carefully lowered the child onto the mattress, and couldn't help but stare as he pulled away. Children had never been a part of his life; for obvious reasons, and the sheer fact that there was now one occupying a room in his home should be a matter of concern, but there was no time to think of these things. The girl would be safe, and Elena needed him. That was all he could focus on.

"I'm going to stay with her for a minute," Elena whispered to him, having set down the rest of the luggage. "Until she's settled."

Damon nodded. "I will go to the office and pull up what I have on Julian. Come find me when she is down." With that agreement, he left, and shut the door gently behind him.


Elena's mind was reeling as she combed Nadia's head back. Her niece was so unconcerned in sleep, that she almost felt guilty for lying to the girl. But what else was she supposed to do? Say "Sorry kid, your mom's missing, possibly dead, and it's completely my fault"?

Elena cursed, and wiped a tear that had formed in the corner of her eye. The poor-pity-me act wasn't going to help find Katherine. She needed a plan of action, and more information than what she had. Hopefully Damon had been luckier on that front. Carefully untangling herself from Nadia's heavy arms, Elena sat her inhaler on the nightstand by the bed and left the room.

Damon was downstairs, exactly where he claimed he would be, and was on the phone with someone. Stefan was there in the office as well, clicking furiously on the laptop, his eyes scanning the screen with an unblinking focus. She cleared her throat as she entered the doorway. Damon's eyes flashed over to her.

"Call me the second you find out," he told whoever he was talking to, she would bet it was Alaric, "And check in with the boys. They should still be at the house."

He ended the call and crossed the room to her, his arms immediately grabbing her waist, "Did she go back to sleep?" Elena nodded and he kissed her head, "Good. Perhaps you should join her for a while. You are exhausted, cara mia. We can manage here."

"I'll sleep when we find my sister," Elena insisted, with a squeeze to his arm, "But thanks. Any news yet?"

Damon led her over to the large chairs they had occupied the first night she had been in this room with him, "Nothing concrete, but I have a plan."

"Which is?" she pressed him.

"Effective," Stefan murmured from behind the computer, not bothering to look up. Damon shot him glance, before further explaining.

"Mason and Enzo are still working through your house, but so far, it does not seem that Julian, or anyone for that matter, are aware of its location. There are no bugs or trackable devices that they have found."

Elena frowned, "But...that's good, right?"

Damon nodded, "Yes. It means that Julian's information on you, or Katalena, is still limited. However, if he is the reason that your sister never made it home, then he knows something. Mason and Enzo found the necklace you told me about."

"They looked in my air vents?" Elena's brow arched, a little impressed at just how thorough of a search was being implemented.

"They will search everywhere to ensure your safety," Damon promised, "But the fact that the necklace is still in place means Julian does not know where it is. If he has taken your sister, or as he probably believes, Katalena, perhaps it is for the purpose of getting his jewels back."

That would be the purpose if they were lucky. Julian would know that he would never get his prize from a dead woman. He would have to keep Katherine alive and question her. The thought was terrifying, because Katherine would never give up the location of their home. She would never put Nadia in danger. But what kind of punishment might she be enduring to keep that secret?

"So your plan is...what, exactly?" Elena asked, "Make a trade? Kat for the necklace?"

"Something like that," Damon said, "First, I need to be sure that your sister's disappearance is Maxfield's doing. If it is not, we do not need to tip our hand. Stefan is running the location of Maxfield and his men right now. Then we will send out a message and set up a meeting."

Elena held up her hand, "Wait...you can trace Julian? How?"

Damon's lip curved with the hint of a dry smile, "The same way I was able to track your car."

"You bugged him," Elena realized.

"No," Stefan answered this time, "Julian's too smart; too paranoid. He constantly checks his car, his phone, and his office for that sort of thing. We put tracers on his men instead, and he's usually close to where they are."

"And the girl?" Damon asked Stefan.

"Booked to leave on a cruise soon. Paid for with Julian's account. Could be a cover, or it could be him getting her out of the frying pan before things heat up."

Damon nodded, and pulled out his cell phone again as it buzzed. "Good. Keep an eye on that. Alaric is nearly to the brothers. Once he has reached them, message Julian and arrange a meet-and-greet for the two of us."

"Three of us," Elena shot.

Damon frowned, "Elena, you can not come."

"Enough with the overprotectiveness! This is about my sister," she reminded him, "Just try and stop me."

He shook his head, "No, cara mia, you misunderstand. This is not me shutting you out. If Julian has your sister, he still might not know that there are two of you. If you are at the meeting, he will be confused as to why his captive is with me and not locked up wherever he has put her. You do not want to risk her life, and I do not want to risk yours. It is better this way."

Elena wanted to argue. She wanted to cross her arms and stomp her foot and insist that she question Julian herself, but Damon was right. It would be safer for Katherine for her to work behind the scenes.

"You will let me know everything he says?" she demanded.

Damon didn't waiver, "Every word. I promise."

That would just have to be good enough, she supposed. But God, the waiting and not knowing would be absolute torture. And trusting Damon, with not just her own life, but with Nadia's and Katherine's as well, went against every instinct she had spent her entire life building. She dropped her head into her hands, wishing she could turn back the clock and decline Damon's offer for the weekend getaway. Maybe then, she would have answered Julian's call, instead of Katherine. Maybe then, her sister would be safe, at home with her daughter.


"Come with me," Damon commanded, and Elena looked up to see him standing, his hand extended to her. Without question, she took it, and he pulled her up.

"Send that message. Then let me know the moment Alaric arrives, or Maxfield reaches out," he told Stefan, who nodded and continued clicking away at the desk. Damon's grip in hers tightened, and he walked her out to the hall, to the stairs. She didn't question him. Not when they reached the top. Not when he entered a different room and came out holding some sort of security equipment. Not until he started toward the room he had put Nadia in.

"What are you-"

"Shh," he placed a finger over his lips and cracked the door open. Nadia was still sound asleep in the bed, from what Elena could tell, and her gaze stayed so focused on the rise and fall of that little chest, that she almost missed what Damon was doing.

Across the room, on an antique dresser, he sat up the equipment, which Elena now realized was a small camera, with what appeared to be a motion sensor. It wasn't top notch or super fancy, the kind of thing you could buy for home defense at Best Buy, but it would serve the purpose he meant it for. A few clicks and a red light later, and the contraption was up and running. Damon rejoined her in the hall.

"Here," he gave her a small, hand-held monitor, "For your peace of mind."

The live feed showed Nadia, exactly as they had left her, the camera angled at the bed. Elena clung to the little box.

"Thank you."

Damon nodded, "Of course. Now, it is your turn to rest."

"No, Damon," she argued, "I told you, I will sleep after-"

"It is nearly five in the morning and you look dead on your feet," he corralled her to a room across the hall, "And there is nothing more you can do at this moment."

"I can be out looking for her," Elena struggled against his hold half-heartedly, "I could make calls, I could search Julian's properties, or I could-"

"Rest," Damon cut her off, "So that when it comes time to do those things, you will be capable."

He shut the door to the room he had taken her to, and it was only then that she bothered to look around at it. If the large king sized bed with it's deep red duvet wasn't clue enough to where she was, the folded pile of clothes on the chaise near the foot of it would have been. Damon's clothes. Damon's bed. Damon's room.

She might have felt a rush of blood in her cheeks, from embarrassment or anticipation, if it had been any other night but this one. If the circumstances weren't as they were. But now? It seemed impossible to think that less than ten hours ago, she had been upstate, doing sinful things with the man now pulling back his blanket for her.

Elena hesitated as she came up to the side of the bed, and met Damon's stare. Those blue eyes were devoid of any of the teasing or lust he usually reserved for her. He knew how serious the situation was, and wanted her to trust him to handle it. Whatever they were, whatever his involvement would mean...they could sort out later.

With a surge of gratitude, Elena leaned up on her toes and placed a kiss against the stubble that was beginning to form on Damon's jaw. He returned the gesture by helping her up onto the bed and pulling the blanket to her neck once she was settled. The pillow was so soft beneath her head, the warm embrace of the duvet so inviting that her brain nearly shut down the moment her eyes closed. Fear and exhaustion tore endlessly at her body, and she realized that Damon was right. She would be no use to anyone until she was functioning with a clear head.

The bed dipped as Damon climbed up on the other side and Elena wanted to turn around and speak to him, but she felt so heavy. Heavy and guilty. Katherine was missing. Katherine needed her. And here she was, sleepy and comfortable, in her lover's bed. And Nadia was…

Elena's thoughts shifted to her niece. No. She had been right before. This was where they needed to be. Katherine would want them safe, protected; especially Nadia. Elena was going to find her, but without Damon's resources, she wouldn't even know where to begin. So for now, she'd just have to let the guilt go. She'd have to try and let her mind catch up to what was happening. She'd have to trust….trust that Damon….that Damon could...trust that…


Damon felt Elena's body sag into the mattress the moment her exhaustion overtook her. He was surprised that she had lasted even this long, after being up for nearly a complete twenty-four hours. Not to mention the rigorous physical activity the two of them had engaged in last night, nor the emotional stress that the disappearance of her twin must be putting on her. Elena was incredible, but she was not a machine, and better she crashed here and now, than in a few hours, when something important might have actually been discovered.

He only wished he could do more. Everything in him wanted to track down Julian Maxfield, interrogate him in a bloody way, and rescue Katherine for Elena's sake. Which was all fine and noble, even. He just was not sure where the urge was coming from. Elena had captured his interest; sure, the thought of never seeing her again felt like ice in his veins, but the other one...she meant nothing to him. Outside of Elena's safety and happiness, he had no motivation to find this woman. But he would, because he could not bear the alternative. And what did that say for him?

As he searched his mind for an answer, Elena rolled over and fell into the cradle of his arms. With a little adjustment, she fit against him as perfectly as ever, and her fist gripped at the collar of his shirt in her sleep. The little motion reminded him of the other charge he had taken responsibility for. The tiny version of Elena that was sick and sleeping in the room across the hall. How had he, a man with so much blood on his hands, ended up with two such delicate creatures in his care? And could he really help them, when he could barely help himself? The doubt was there, as strong as the self-deprecation ever was, but that was just the thing, wasn't it? This entire situation was not about him. He never could help himself, but Elena? She made him feel as if he could move mountains to make her smile. He would be successful in this endeavor, for her sake. And that would be enough. She would always be enough.


A little fluff at the end! Let me know whatcha think! :)