Author's Note: I have updated this chapter and fixed some mistakes, so here is the reupload. Hope you all are staying safe during this COVID-19 time, it is a generation changing event and I hoping everyone is staying safe and their families are as well. Anyways on with you the show…
Chapter Five: A Weekend Away
Mystic Grill, Mystic Falls, Virginia
Damon Point of View
It had been a week since Stefan and Damon had rescued Caroline from the pack of wolves and Damon had only started off to relax that very same day. He had been Elena's shadow (though he had not told her that) as well as checking in on both the Bennet and Forbes residence. Caroline had come over the day after she had been kidnapped and had asked him to begin training her and he had promised to give her some pointers. He had to admit the blonde vampire impressed with the control she had over her bloodlust at such a young age, he had taken her to the Mystic Grill and given her a quick lesson on compulsion. It was midday on Friday when Jenna came into the Grill with Alaric, Jeremy, and Elena in tow. Elena smiled at him as they made their way over to him, she quickly pulled him into a quick hug that had served as her greeting for him since he and his brother had rescued Caroline.
"Hey what are you three not doing in school?" Damon asked as Jenna and Alaric placed an order and Jeremy got a seat while Elena pulled back and sat down next to him.
"It's our yearly get-away, we're heading up to my family's lake house and are going to spend the weekend there" Elena murmured as a cup of coke was placed in front of her.
"Stefan didn't mention he was going" Damon murmured thinking back on their conversations.
His brother was acting rather suspicious the last couple of days, he had been disappearing from the boarding house and speaking in hushed tones with people on the phone that Damon could not quite make out. Maybe this was why he was acting so weird, perhaps he was trying to get prepare for a little family get together. Suddenly Damon realized that Elena and her family could be in danger; Damon was not sure if the wolves were still in town and the ever-present threat of Klaus and Katherine made the thoughts of them escaping his sight cause his chest to constrict in a painful way he didn't quite understand.
The camper wolves had used as a base had disappeared by the time Damon went searching for it the day after when Bonnie, Caroline, and Elena had gone to school.
"Stefan's not coming, it's just us" Elena replied as Jenna and Alaric went to sit by Jeremy while Elena stayed up on a barstool next Damon.
"What do you mean it's just you, you can't leave town without protection" Damon replied with more panic than he cared to admit.
"I'm not some damsel in distress Damon, I can handle myself" Elena argued back making Damon roll his eyes.
"I'm not just talking about you, Jeremy, Ric and Jenna are human too and the supernatural world doesn't play by your rules" Damon replied causing Elena to soften her look at him.
"You're worried about all of us…not just me" Elena spoke after a few moments and look she gave him, almost daring him to lie to her pierced his soul and he found himself unable to deny her words.
"You guys can't leave without protection" Damon instead said ignoring her look and her words.
"Well then come with us?" Elena asked looking away from Damon and down at her food which had just been deposited in front of her.
"You…you want me to come up with you?" Damon asked in shock as Elena looked up at him and smile.
"Yeah, I do Damon…you're not the worst company in the world" Elena murmured sharing a secret smile with him.
"Well, I guess it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world" Damon murmured at each other.
"Let me clear it with Jenna, I don't think she will say no but there will only be a sofa bed left, sorry" Elena replied as she stood up and walked over her aunt.
After a quick conversation, Elena returned to her chair next to Damon smiling at him saying her aunt had given him the ok, not only that but Elena had decided to ride up there with Damon causing another smile to appear on his face.
Gilbert Lake House, Several Hundred Miles
From Mystic Falls, Virginia
Damon Point of View
Damon and Elena pulled up to the Elena's Lakehouse, it was just past eight o clock by the time they reached the lake house because Damon needed to get some supplies. After that, the two-hour drive up to lake house seemed to fly by, Elena was a good road trip companion (he did put his foot down at her playing Taylor Swift). They spent hours talking with each other about nothing and everything whilst occasionally singing along to whatever song they had decided to play. Damon normally would not take this long to make a journey of this length, but he took his time with the car ride enjoying having Elena to himself. Damon maneuvered the car beside Ric's jeep and put the car into park.
"Well, will I made it, even with you screaming like a banshee all the way up" Damon snarked as he opened the car as his words caused Elena to roll her eyes.
"Please I am a great singer, you're the one who can't sing to save his life" Elena replied getting out the opposite side of the car whilst Damon popped the trunk and went to gather their bags.
"If I wasn't a vampire, I think I would be deaf at the moment" Damon grumbled as he picked up the bags and started to talk beside Elena who smacked him in the arms for his comments.
They made their way up the front steps of the rustic cabin and Damon took in the surroundings, reaching out with his senses and gauging if there was a danger hidden in the words that surrounded the lake. First Jenna, Ric and Jeremy's voices floated from inside the cabin and as he stretched out with to the woods.
After finding that he was the most dangerous thing around he started up the stairs and came to a stop in front of the door as Elena opened it with her key. She walked over the threshold and turned to face Damon, a smile blooming on her face as he came to a stop just outside the cabin door.
"Ummm going to invite me in or what Elena?" Damon asked as Elena's smile widened at his words.
"First, say that I am good singing and that you can't sing" Elena cheekily said to Damon who let a groan of frustration.
"Seriously, what are we five here?" Damon questioned Elena who only shook her head at him, the laughter ringing out from the cabin let him know the rest of Elena's family were enjoying this scene.
"Damon, I invite you in," she said laughing as Damon pretended to attack her neck and as he walked by her carrying the bags.
Damon spied Alaric sitting on the couch in the lounge room with Jenna sitting at his legs and Jeremy took up the rest of the couch beside them. Damon stopped and waited for Elena to show him where to dump her bags before he went downstairs and grabbed the cooler he had left in the back of the car. After Elena had shown him where he was sleeping Elena and Damon joined the rest of group in eating (which he did out of politeness), then blamed lame board games that were apparently a tradition and then were forced to sit through a family movie he swore he would never watch. As the night wore down and Jenna and Alaric went to bed followed by Jeremy leaving Elena alone with Damon.
"Thank you for coming too Damon…I had a lot of fun with you here" Elena murmured as she stood as Damon did the same.
She pulled him into a hug, kissing his cheek before she turned around and fled up the stairs leaving Damon alone slightly shocked. He had been kissed by many women, and that one kiss on his cheek set fire to him more than any other woman ever has.
Gilbert Lake House, Several Hundred Miles
From Mystic Falls, Virginia
Damon Point of View
Damon had woken up on the couch in the downstairs of the lake house and he realized it was still exceedingly early. Looking at his phone he realized it was only six a.m., everyone else would still be sleeping off the late night. Damon stood up and grabbed his leather jacket, slipping a pair of boots on he made his way out the door and down the back porch that led to a jetty overlooking the lake. He sighed, breathing in deep and trying for the life of him what this feeling was. It was a good feeling, something he had not felt in a while, and as he strolled down the yard and out onto the jetty, he came to a stop shock coursing through his system.
The feeling that he had not been able to recognize was happiness. These people had given something he had not felt in over fifty years…not since that fateful night where he left his friend to die in a fire.
That thought petrified him, as he stood on the end of the dock and closed his eyes he reached out and sensed nothing, well there seemed to be several heartbeats close by but they were too fast to be humans. How could he have let this happen, he had a real do not get close to people, as a vampire humanity is a vampire's greatest weakness. It was not just caring about Bonnie, Jeremy, Jenna, Alaric, and Stefan but was the main reason he could not leave.
Her life was in danger and he could not live with himself if he had let anything happen to her…not when he could stop it. Elena and he seemed to have some sort of connection; she understands him on a level that he had never felt in his life.
Damon reached inside himself and found that magical switch that all vampires had, he could feel the metaphorical finger touching it and about it turn it off when a voice broke through his thoughts.
"Why do I have a feeling you are out this early, is not a good thing?" Elena voice said from behind him making him face and turn her.
She was standing at the end of the docks, her sleep clothes thrown on and a blanket wrapped around her shoulders to shield her from the cold. She had a look of concern on her face and Damon sighed again as he turned away from her to look back over the calm, placid lake trying to calm his raging storm of feelings.
"Thinking" Damon replied trying to ignore the way her smell made his shoulders tense less slightly.
He felt her slowly approach him until he could feel her hand touching his shoulder and gently turning to face him.
"About what?" Elena murmured making sigh and look down into her doe eyes.
"How I've changed…I care too much Elena and I can't be unfocused on what I have to do" Damon said snatching his arm away.
"And what is it you're supposed to do?" Elena asked letting Damon have his distance, he stopped placed his hands on his hips before he turned back to Elena.
"By my feelings…for you. I care about you Elena, a lot more than I said. You're my brother's girl but everyone time we are to together I lose track of who I am" Damon admitted walking down to the end of the pair and looking out over the water.
"You're not the only one Damon, since the moment we met I have felt this pull to…this connection and I can't understand it and to be honest I don't want to" Elena murmured coming up to him and turning him to face her.
They looked at each other for a few moments before Damon took her into his arms, and as brown gazed into blue before Elena's eyes dipped down to his lips then back up to his eyes as if giving him a signal. Everyone bone in his body said it was a bad idea as but as he leaned in his heart won out and after a moment hesitation, he connected his lips with hers in a soft gentle kiss.
"Well isn't this sweet, we caught them in an intimate moment" a woman's voice broke out from the end of the docks making the pair break apart and face the speaker.
When he saw who it was rage and for the first-time fear entered his body; rage because he should have slaughtered all the wolves when he had the chance. But the fear was not for him …no it was for Elena. He was all that stood between Jules and another man standing beside her he recognized as being called Brady the other night. Damon shifted in front of Elena pulling her so she would not be in the way and they would have to go through him to get to her.
"How did you find us?" Damon replied trying to figure out a plan but its position was not a good one.
Jules and Brady stood at the end of the dock and there was only Elena and Damon there at the other end. He was in a bad position but all he had to do was to get Elena into the house and wake Alaric up and he would come out with his wolf arsenal.
"It was pretty easy, but I must say it was a lot easier to get the drop on you than we thought we would it be" Jules replied.
"What do you want?" Damon asked as he shifted Elena further behind him.
"We're after the girl, give her over and no-one has to get hurt…much. Don't…and well the odds aren't exactly in your favour, are they?" Jules replied a deadly look crossing her face as Brady drew a machete from a sheath in his side and Jules pulled a stake from her pocket.
"You want to touch a hair on her head you are going to have to kill me first" Damon snarled shifting into a fighting chance as he felt Elena grab at the sleeve of his shirt.
"As soon as you get the chance get into the house and get Ric, I'll buy you time just get Ric" Damon turned and whispered slightly to Elena who nodded her head and looked at him fearfully.
Damon turned back to face the two wolves unleashing the demon inside, snarling slightly as the veins beneath his eyes rippled red and his eyes turned almost onyx. He started to make his way towards the two people who met his stride step for step, he only hoped he could buy enough time for Elena to get to safety.
End of Chapter Note: Sorry for ending it on a cliff hanger, hope you all don't hate me too much. Let me know what you all think of the chapter with a review and as always thanks for reading