Chapter 8

Damon returned the tea mugs to the kitchen, turned off the TV, and reclined on the couch, arms behind his head. Today had been a day for the books. If I kept a diary, he thought, bemused.

His thoughts drifted back to Elena. He had tucked her in and lain down beside her. He'd wanted with all his might to stay there next to her, to wake up in the morning with her in his arms. And he could tell she'd wanted it, too. In the end, though, they had agreed that they needed to get to the bottom of the visions. So he had left, making sure the door was shut behind him. If Elena's theory was right, then they needed to be apart for the visions to occur. They had decided that if the visions did return, then one of them would need to open the door mid-vision. If the vision ended then Elena's theory would be confirmed.

Damon had a sneaking suspicious that the visions were over for the night and none of this would matter anyway. The visions all seemed to be spaced many hours apart. It'd be too soon for another one to happen again tonight. This knowledge almost made him abandon his place on the couch, but he persisted. Just in case.

He laid there for several long minutes imagining drinking Elena's warm, rich blood. Then he finally fell asleep.

Damon walked into Ric's apartment to the sight of Elena pumping iron. She was lying on the bench, bar bell over head, chest heaving. Damon's mind blanked at the sight of her chest. Her breasts were perfect. He walked closer, putting his hand on the bar bell to add resistance, but really he just wanted to get a better look at her overflowing cleavage raked in sweat. He wanted to lick the sweat off of her slowly. His cock twitched in his pants. He was only vaguely aware of Elena chastising him. She let go off the bar and he lifted it easily back into place.

He was able to focus momentarily when Elena brought up the idea of saving Stefan. Damon was skeptical, but he'd do it for her. There wasn't much he wouldn't do for her. Even saving his brother at the expense of his own happiness. But if he was going to do this, he wanted to make sure she wouldn't forget her feelings for him. Damon grabbed her hand and placed it on his chest.

"What're you doing?" Elena asked, confused.

"Feel that? It's the sternum. A solid plate of bone," he said, then he spun her around quickly so that her back was against his chest. He took his right hand and grasped her right palm in what would appear to anyone else as an intimate embrace. He took his other hand and pressed it into her back as he whispered into her ear, "And right here, just below the rib cage, next to the spine, that's your way to a vampire's heart." He noticed her breathing start to stutter. "I'll do whatever it is you need me to do, Elena," he said as he rubbed his nose through her hair and turned her back around. "No one's going to hurt you. Especially not my brother," he finished.

Elena's eyes went directly to Damon's lips before finding his eyes again.

That's all the permission Damon needed. He pulled her close and attacked her lips with his, and she didn't hesitate to kiss him back. He yanked her tank top off over her head, and backed up enough to do the same to his shirt before reattaching himself to her. He kissed her head and hair hungrily, then his lips proceeded down her neck and back behind her ear. As he kissed, Elena stammered, "Ric."

What? Why was she talking about Ric in this moment? "What about him?" Damon managed between kisses and sucks.

"He'll be back soon. We don't have a lot of time," Elena said in one breath as she reached for his belt buckle, quickly releasing him from his jeans.

"Then we won't dally," he said as he yanked down her yoga pants and panties in one swift motion. He turned Elena around so she was leaning over the bar and rubbed the palm of his hand up her thigh, across her rib cage, and to her breasts. He lightly teased her nipple over the fabric of her sports bra with one hand as he brought his other hand to her clit. He circled his finger over her nub then gently placed a finger inside her opening, intending to ready her for his girth. He sighed in pleasure, "You're already so wet," he moaned.

Elena panted with pleasure and rubbed back into him, arching her back and grinding into his erection. "Don't tease me, Damon."

Damon chuckled as he bent her back over, found the right angle, and slowly entered into her. He pulled her hips back as he thrust forward slightly. Elena's breath hitched and Damon groaned. He'd imagined this moment so many times, but nothing he'd imagined had done it justice. He repeated the motion, just as slowly, savoring every sensation. She was so beautiful, inside and out. He thought if he could just show her, now in this moment, how much he loved her, that it might just make all the difference. He thrust again, gently. Then again. He began picking up the tempo. Elena continued to push back into him as they found their rhythm.

"Touch yourself, Elena." He whispered into her ear when she once again couldn't resist arching her back.

And she complied. He watched over her shoulder as she brought a hand to her chest. She rubbed her fingers over the nipple, applying much needed pressure. Then she squeezed her nipple between her thumb and forefinger. She whimpered his name, and Damon lost the rhythm for just a moment, his body temporarily losing the ability to function properly.

Then a distant noise from the street. The unmistakable sound of Ric on his cell. "Shit. Ric. We have maybe two minutes."

"I'm close. Don't stop." Elena murmured.

Damon bent her back over the bar, bodies slapping as he slammed into her over and over. He was close, too. If he was honest, he'd been ready to burst ever since he stood over her heaving chest on that bench. Unwilling to finish until she did, he reached around and began rubbing her nub again. She started panting faster, and just when he thought he couldn't take it another second, she cried out, arching her back and collapsing against the bar top. Damon spilled out inside of her moments later, and briefly rested on top of her as she lay on the bar.

Then Damon heard Ric opening the building door downstairs. "He's almost here," he said as he pulled away from Elena, grabbed his jeans, and yanked them up. Elena did the same with her pants as Damon grabbed their shirts and threw them into Elena's gym bag. When Ric opened the door, Elena was kicking and throwing punches at Damon and he was blocking them shot for shot with ease.

"You guys got an early start," Ric said, throwing his keys on the bar top.

"You have no idea," Elena breathed and Damon chuckled for the second time that day.

Damon had woken up about halfway through the vision. He'd managed to make it up the stairs somehow, but when he got to Elena's door, he just leaned against it. Part of him was unwilling to risk ending the vision by opening the door. He chided himself for his selfishness and went to grab the door knob when he heard Elena and stopped.

She was sighing his name, which wasn't unusual all things considered, but what gave him pause was the proximity of the voice. She was right on the other side of the door. His suspicion was confirmed when the door handle rattled slightly. Why isn't she opening the door? Damon thought. Well, why aren't you?

Before he could change his mind, Damon reached out and twisted the door knob. He pushed gently on the door, not wanting to hurt Elena if she was standing there. When the door didn't collide with anything, he pushed it open further and stumbled through. Elena was leaning against the wall, panting heavily. Damon went to her immediately, holding her tightly, head in hair, and she leaned back into him.

The vision hadn't stopped once the door was open. If anything, it had gotten stronger. The feelings and sensations were unbelievably real. He held on to Elena for dear life and they both used the wall for support as the vision reached its designed conclusion. As Elena cried out his name in the vision, she whimpered it in real life. Damon held her tighter. He was unable to hold off his release in real life. It was all just too much. "Fuck!" he cried as he came hard in his pants. He and Elena slid to the floor and just held each other until they both lost track of time.

They woke in the same position hours later to sun streaming in through Elena's window. Disoriented, Elena squinted and turned to find a sleepy looking Damon rubbing his hands through his hair. Everything came flooding back to her. The vision. The intimacy of Damon holding her through it. The peaceful sleep she had finally gotten sitting here in his arms. She smiled, "Hey."

"Hey," he said simply. He seemed nervous. In the past, she would never have associated that word with Damon, but the last few days had changed things. She reached over to rub her thumb over his cheek and the tension in his body seemed to ease immediately. He smiled wryly, "You think I could shower and maybe borrow some pants from Jeremy. I don't think I brought my over-night bag."

Elena stifled a giggle and got up to go find Damon some clothes. "Sure, go ahead. I'll leave some clothes on his bed. I'll go down and make some breakfast."

"Umm, no, you won't. I prefer my food not burned to a crisp. I'll only be a second. Why don't you start the coffee," Damon smiled wickedly as he started disrobing with the door wide open. "Unless, that is, you care to join me in here."

Elena flushed. "I'll just start the coffee." She grabbed her cell and headed down the stairs.

Elena had just started the brew cycle when there was a knock on the door. She yelled, "Come in," as she quickly checked her reflection in the microwave glass. She didn't know what she expected. It's not like she had actually been having sex with Damon all night long, but for some reason she still felt exposed, like whoever walked through that door would be able to tell everything that she'd been thinking and feeling.

She was relieved when Bonnie appeared in the kitchen doorway. "Hey, Bonnie. I was just making some coffee. Would you like some?"

"Sure, thanks," Bonnie said normally enough, but something was off.

"What's wrong?" Elena asked just as Stefan walked up behind Bonnie.

"I wouldn't mind a cup, too," he said nonchalantly and smiled, acting for all the world as if nothing had happened the night before.

Elena nodded and turned to grab four mugs from the cabinet. She heard Damon coming down the stairs and said a silent prayer that everything would go smoothly. She turned to find Bonnie and Stefan already settling at the kitchen island. When Damon walked into the room, she had to stifle a laugh. Jeremy's jeans were clearly too large in the waste and maybe a little short. For someone who was always so put together, it was quite the juxtaposition.

Damon shot her a death glare before swaggering over as if nothing was amiss, "Little brother, to what do we owe the honor?" Elena noticed how Damon had come to stand on the other side of the kitchen island with her, effectively blocking the view of his discordant jeans from Bonnie and Stefan. She caught his eye and smirked at him. His eyes glinted at her but otherwise let on nothing.

Stefan cleared his throat. "Uh, yes, actually, I did," he said. Then facing Elena head on, he said, "Elena, I'm so sorry I left you here unprotected, even for a moment. It was selfish and immature and irresponsible. I wasn't thinking. I regretted it as soon as I woke up, but I knew by then that Damon would be here. So I used the night to clear my head."

"It's ok, Stefan," Elena said, and she meant it. This was hard on all of them. "This isn't exactly an easy situation."

"No, it's not, but I think Bonnie and I have come up with a solution that might make it easier," Stefan said.

Damon's eyes shot up from his coffee mug. "What do you mean 'easier'?

Bonnie looked uncomfortable.

"I thought you said the spell could only be terminated one way, Bonnie?" Elena whispered, trying to steady her voice. She didn't want Stefan to hear the panic in her voice. The feeling surprised even her. She didn't want the spell to end. Or she did, but only on her terms.

Bonnie shifted in her seat. "I did say that, and it's still true. You can only end the spell one way."

"So what's this magical solution?" Damon asked, leering at Stefan outright. Elena wanted to touch his arm, to reassure him, comfort him. But she knew she couldn't. Not now anyway.

"Stefan had the idea to do a transfer spell. I'm not positive it will work, but it should. The original spell requires that the subjects be in love in order for it to work, so it stands to reason that if Elena loves Stefan, then we should be able to transfer the spell from Damon to Stefan." Bonnie said, matter-of-factly.

"And what, pray tell, does that actually accomplish, Stefan? We need the spell to actually go away so we can focus on what Klaus is really up to," Damon seethed.

"I know, Damon," Stefan sighed, resigned. "My thought process was just that Elena has been with me before. She may be more comfortable with me," at this, Stefan made eye contact with Elena. "I thought that it might be easier for you to end the spell if it were with me. I mean, I know things aren't great between us. I'm not asking you to forget all that. But since we've already been together…" he trailed off.

Elena froze, panic rising in her chest once again. She didn't know what to say. On one hand, she appreciated what Stefan was trying to do for her, but on the other, she was aghast at the thought of being with anyone else other than Damon.

"Elena," Bonnie prodded, "what do you want me to do?"

Elena hesitated. She knew what she wanted to do, but she needed to talk to Stefan alone. Before she could say anything, her cell phone rang.

"It's Jeremy," she said to the group as she answered her phone. "Hey, Jer, what's up? You didn't come home last night."

"Yea, I stayed at Tyler's. Hey, have you heard from Matt this morning? He's supposed to be opening the Grill with me, but he's late. He's never late," Jeremy said, sounding worried.

"No, I haven't talked to him. Last we knew, he was going over to Rebekah's. Did you try his phone?" she asked.

"Yea, he's not answering," Jeremy said.

"Ok, I'll run by his house, and I'll try calling Rebekah. I'll let you know what I find out," Elena hung up the phone and looked at Bonnie as she relayed what Jeremy had said.

"I'll go over to Klaus's. Something stinks," Damon was saying.

"Damon, wait," Elena said, worried. "You can't just stroll into Klaus's."

"Oh but can't I?" he quipped and headed for the door.

Damon didn't know why he was being such a jerk. It wasn't like Elena had done or said anything to upset him, not exactly. Maybe it was the fact that she hadn't said anything at all. She had heard Stefan's ludicrous suggestion and then she'd just stood there. His eyes flashed red at the memory. He knew he was being self-destructive by going after Klaus, but so be it. It's what he did best.

Damon flung open his car door and stopped. Elena was suddenly in his head. He looked back at the house and there she stood in the doorway, making eye contact with him. But in his head, she was standing beside him. Kissing him. He leaned his head against the car and waited out the vision.

In his head, Elena pulled out of the kiss and continued to stroke his chest, not meeting his eyes. Then she looked up and he saw tears streaming down his face. The vision faltered.

Damon looked back toward Elena on the porch. She was really crying. His heart twisted in his chest as he picked up the vision where she had left off. He stroked her hair and began kissing the tears away one by one. "What's wrong, Elena?"

"Why are you doing this?" she asked. "I thought…I thought we were…"

"Thought we were what, Elena?" Damon whispered as he continued to kiss her to keep the fantasy vision going.

"I thought we were a team now, and you just walked out to go do something stupid without even consulting me," Elena spat out then grabbed him by the neck and pulled him into a deep kiss. "Don't go. Please," she begged as she released him.

"Come to me," he whispered in her ear.

On the porch, Elena hesitated. She looked back over her shoulder into the house. Then he heard her call out to Bonnie and Stefan, "I'll be right back," before she quickly jogged over to his car. He motioned for her to get into the passenger seat. When they were in the car, he started the engine and turned up the music to drown out their conversation. He looked over at Elena, and he couldn't help it. His mind flashed to the vision of the road trip. Elena smiled wickedly at him as she scooted closer.

"Oh, no you don't," he managed, although it was the exact opposite of what he actually wanted to say.

Elena's face returned to her serious expression. "I need to talk to Stefan. Today. Right now. He needs to know, Damon. I can't let him keep holding on to hope like this."

"I thought maybe you would want to do what he was offering," Damon admitted, grasping the steering wheel and staring blankly out to the street ahead.

"I don't know how you could possibly think that. Not after everything – "Elena was interrupted for the second time that day by her cell phone ringing. "It's Klaus."

"Where's Matt?" Elena spat into the phone.

"Hello, Love. I'm well. Thank you for asking. I hope you had an enjoyable night yourself," Klaus chided.

Elena repeated, "Where's Matt?"

"Oh, no need to worry, Love. Your quarter back is here with me. I'm keeping him quite comfortable," Klaus conceded.

Elena's mind raced. He had Matt. But why? And what would they do about it? "Don't you dare hurt him!"

"Calm down, Elena. No harm will come to your friend. That is, as long as you follow my exact instructions."

Elena waited. She gripped Damon's hand for support.

"Make an excuse to your body guards. Come here, alone. If you do, I promise no harm will come to you or to Matt. I will release you both as soon as I have what I need. Do we have a deal?"

Damon was already starting the car and pulling out into the street. "We have a deal," Elena said. "I'll be there shortly." She hung up the phone and immediately started texting Bonnie with the update.

Next to her, Damon said, "Tell Bonnie that we may need that spell her and I were working on sooner rather than later."

Elena looked at Damon in confusion but did as she was asked.