A/N: Hey guys! I just wanted to say thank you again for the awesome response. I think this story has a few more good chapters left in it, but I'm getting excited about a few other story ideas I've had. I don't want to start anything until I finish this one, though. Let me know in your reviews if you would be interested in hearing more from me after this.
Chapter 11
Cold metal dug into the souls of Elena's feet and the cheap hospital gown chaffed against her skin. She had never felt so exposed. The stirrups were something she'd only ever experienced twice before, after Aunt Jenna had insisted that she start having an annual check-up with her OB-GYN. Those times had been uncomfortable enough, but this?! At least in the past it had been just her and the doctor, and Elena knew it was nothing the doctor hadn't seen a thousand times before. But now, in this office turned hospital room, she felt complete and utter humiliation.
The stirrups held her legs spread eagle, and she was completely naked except for the thin slip of the uncomfortable hospital gown that now road up to her waste. Her lady parts were bared for all to see should anyone choose to walk into the room. Elena huffed in frustration for the umpteenth time and tried yet again to remove herself from the table, but it was futile. The compulsion had been thorough. She wasn't going anywhere.
Elena heard the clomp, clomp of heavy footsteps outside the door and stilled, heart racing. The door handle turned and Damon appeared, pain and regret morphing his face. Elena began to struggle in earnest now, praying against all odds that somehow she could fight the compulsion. As Damon drew nearer, Elena only struggled harder. This was the man whose presence should have emanated comfort and reassurance; instead only cold dread welled inside her.
"Damon, you don't have to do this. Fight it. You can fight it," Elena begged.
"I wish I could, Elena. You have no idea how much I wish I could."
Elena sagged back against the bed, defeated, as she watched Damon lift the syringe-like device from the instrument table.
Only a few hours before, Damon and Elena's non-plan had gone helplessly awry. They had determined that Damon would take any opportunity to get his hands on Klaus. It only had to be for a moment, after all. So when they followed Matt out the door that morning, Damon was feeling pretty confident. He didn't anticipate the hybrid standing outside the door, hadn't heard him there at all. He hadn't even smelled him, which in and of itself was unusual considering werewolves smelled awful to vampires, even in human form. Damon suspected magic and his stomach coiled at the thought that Klaus had possibly gotten ahold of Bonnie. If that were the case then their plan was doomed from the get-go.
The hybrid had staked Damon threw the stomach, dropping him to his knees. Pain shot threw him and for a moment his vision blurred. Disoriented, he barely noticed as his hands wrenched behind him violently and tied behind his back, vervained ropes burning into his skin.
The hybrid yanked Damon to his feet by the collar of his shirt, and Damon heard Elena scream. In his distress, he had momentarily forgotten about her. He jerked his head up to see the cause of her screaming only to realize he was the reason. She struggled against the grasp of another hybrid, trying her hardest to detach herself and get to him. It was a fruitless endeavor, of course, but one he appreciated anyway. He found her spunk adorable, even in the worst of situations.
Damon turned his attention back to his hybrid, a large, stocky thing with a terrible gladiator haircut. He looked more like a tanned skin Hulk than a werewolf-vampire combo. The Hulk sneered at Damon. "That's to keep you from getting any ideas, Pretty Boy."
Damon gritted through the pain and managed to don his infamous smirk. "I'm flattered that Klaus and his minions find me so threatening. Now, do you mind removing this stake from my intestines? I think it's safe to say that I look much prettier without it."
"Only if you ask nicely," the Hulk grunted, as he stepped close to Damon and bared his teeth. Damon tried to act unaffected but the truth could be heard in the racing of his heart beat. He'd never forget what it felt like to be dying from werewolf venom, nor would he ever forget Rose's demise from similar circumstances.
"Please," Damon managed through the pain.
"One moment, Gideon." Klaus came around the corner, seeming chipper as usual. He walked right up to Damon and circled him, inspecting the handiwork of his sired subjects. Apparently finding everything to his satisfaction, Klaus beamed. He stepped closer to Damon, and Damon couldn't help but struggle to release his hands, despite knowing it was futile. Klaus laughed, taking one finger and penetrating the bleeding wound in Damon's stomach. He lifted it back to his lips and tasted the blood. "Ah, vervain free. Perfect." Then, without warning, he removed the stake lodged in Damon's gut.
Damon grunted but had no time to feel the relief of his healing wound. Klaus came even closer until he was mere centimeters from Damon's face. His menacing eyes locked with Damon's, making the necessary connection needed for compulsion. Damon panicked and struggled harder knowing what was coming. With a seeming will of their own, his ice blue eyes widened and locked into place. Klaus smirked, toying with him. "Now there, that wasn't so bad, was it?" he cooed. Then, treachery returning to his stare, he said," You will do everything I tell you to do from this moment forward until I say differently. Understood?"
Damon nodded. "I will do everything you say starting from this moment," Damon intoned in a robotic voice.
Klaus broke eye contact and turned to smile at Elena. "Good," he said. "Now we can have breakfast." And with that, Klaus led the way to the formal dining room.
The dining room was again decked out with the most delectable spread. There were croissants, biscuits, jams, butter, toast, fruit, sausage, gravy, and other things Elena had never even seen before. The room was alight with the soft glow of candles and morning sun, and the pretty blonds were back. This time, though, they were dressed in gaudy silver. Glitter caught the light and sparkled in their hair.
"Please, do sit." Klaus said as a hybrid pulled out a chair for Elena. "You need to eat and maintain your strength."
At that moment, one of the silver clad girls came through the door with a tray of bacon and eggs. Elena declined as she was offered food from the tray, her stomach rolling already from the morning's activities.
"Eat," Klaus snarled, "Or I will have your boyfriend here rip Renee's heart out of her chest. You wouldn't want that now, would you?" Klaus said, indicating the beautiful blond to Elena's right.
Elena sighed and grabbed a piece of toast from the table and topped it with Nutella spread. "Happy?" she barked at Klaus as she took a bite.
"You have the diet of a six year old child. If you want this baby to be healthy, Elena Dear, then I suggest you start reading up on proper nutrition." Klaus winked at her, then turned to Damon, sitting opposite Elena. "Now, I do believe you must be ravished, especially after all that blood loss this morning. Here, do let Patricia take care of that for you."
With that, Patricia stepped up to Damon and extended her wrist in front of his face. Elena stilled. She had no delusions about who Damon was. He was a proud vampire. Not so very long ago, he was an emotionless vampire. With his switch flipped, he had fed often and without care, taking what he wanted and leaving his victims for dead. More recently, however, he preferred snatch, eat, erase to murder. And with Elena around, he stuck to blood bags. In fact, he preferred to be classy about it and only drank his blood from a mug or highball glass, and then usually only when Elena wasn't there to see. These attempts to spare her feelings weren't lost on her. She knew he wasn't Stefan and that he would never adopt a bunny only diet, nor did she want him to be. Still, she appreciated his attempts to spare her all the same.
She watched as Damon simply sat and did nothing with the offering in front of him. "I'm actually not that hungry," he said, jaw clenching.
Klaus snorted. "We're always hungry, Mate. Now eat."
At first, Elena felt the need to look away. She didn't want to watch this even for a second, but she fought the urge. She wanted to show her support for Damon, to let him know that she knew he wasn't at fault for any of this, to reiterate that this didn't change how she felt about him. Because it was true. She still loved him. Nothing Klaus could do would change that, and she just had to find a way to tell him, to reassure him. Then Elena had an idea.
As the compulsion took over, Elena watched as Damon's faced began to shift and his fangs protruded. He looked at her apologetically before looking down at the wrist in front of him. Before he could lash out and take the blood that intoxicated and ensnared him, Elena yelled, "Wait!"
In her head, Elena began imagining. Knowing the fantasy visions only worked if they were actual fantasies, she pictured herself in a leather bustier and a barely there black lace G-string. She visualized herself strutting over to Damon, running her hands through her hair playfully, never breaking eye contact. Nearing his side, she did a 360 slow turn for his benefit, letting him take in every inch of her body, from her luscious breasts to her firm, bare butt cheeks. Returning to face him, she lifted one tan, stiletto clad leg and placed it between his legs right near his groin. She reached over and ran her fingers through his strands, mussing them even more. Elena considered that she was perhaps having too much fun with this, so without preamble, she straddled him completely. Propped on her knees, using his body for support, Elena leaned down and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "Imagine it's me," she whispered in his ear. Lifting slightly to kiss the other cheek, she whispered again, "Imagine I'm giving myself to you fully." She kissed him again, this time on the lips. This kiss was long and slow and sweltering. Elena thought her panties might melt off just from the image of it ablaze in her mind. Finally, she pulled apart and said earnestly, "It's ok. I love you."
Elena knew she was taking a risk. Damon might be mad at her for this. After all, hadn't he told her rather recently that he wanted this moment to be real between them? Desperate times, Elena thought.
In the fantasy, it was her and not Patricia that held her arm in front of Damon's mouth. It was her that Damon bit into delicately with his fangs. It was her veins that he gently sucked the blood from, and it was her arm that he licked clean with his tongue when he was finished.
And Elena could feel it. She could feel everything like it was actually happening. The sharp pinch as his fangs penetrated her skin, the pulling sensation as he sucked followed quickly by an orgasmic, dizzy feeling that swept through her entire body, then the tickle of her skin as he licked her clean. She gripped the arm rests of her chair until her knuckles turned white, all too aware that keen eyes were upon them.
She let go of the fantasy just as Damon released the arm of the girl. She caught his eye and could feel the gratitude there. Elena was overjoyed as well. It had been a spectacular moment, a moment she couldn't wait to recreate in real life. But more than that, she realized they could communicate despite Klaus's presence and the compulsion. Perhaps there would be a way out of this after all.
An agonizing hour passed at the dining room table as Klaus practically force-fed Elena the five food groups and carried on banal conversation. Mostly he talked, and everyone else listened. He'd already covered the middle ages, great inventions, and New Orleans, and Damon could only roll his eyes as Klaus began talking about the renaissance period and the many great artists that he'd had the pleasure of studying under. And, apparently, feeding on from time to time. "Rembrandt was a favorite," Klaus's eyes twinkled at the memory. "What about you, Damon? Any favorite tasty treats in your time?"
Damon smiled genuinely. "Yes, actually," he answered. "As a matter of fact, your blood was some of the tastiest I've ever had the pleasure of drinking." Becoming more serious and more threatening, he continued, "I'd sure like to rip it out of your throat next time."
Klaus frowned. "Always the jokester, Damon," he said, rising from his seat. Finally, Damon thought. "Let's see who's laughing when we're done." With that, Klaus walked over to the hidden door in the wall and pushed it open. There sat a brunette in scrubs and a lab coat flipping through an issue of OK magazine. He couldn't help but laugh as he noticed the cover. His Twilight pals, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, were splayed across the cover with text proclaiming, "Yes! They're in Love."
The woman looked up from her magazine at Klaus's interruption. "It's time, Love," he said, smiling his trademark dapper smile.
The lady stood and walked over to Elena. "Hi, sweetie," she said, kneeling down to Elena and touching her arm. "Glad you could make it in this morning. Let's get you up to the room and get you changed and we can get started."
"That's right. Up and at 'em, boys and girls." Klaus sing-songed, as the Hulk, who'd been hovering over Damon's shoulder the entire meal, grabbed his arm and forced him to his feet. This guy is so dead, Damon thought as he attempted to shrug the brute off him. He was perfectly capable of walking all on his own.
"Oh, and dear doctor, before I forget," Klaus said, stopping in his tracks. "I'd like Damon to be the one to perform the procedure. Damon, you will be the one to impregnate Elena with Matt's sperm." Klaus clapped his hands together gleefully. Damon ran at him using his vamp speed, intending to what? He didn't know. His hands were still tied up, but he couldn't stand there and do nothing. He heard Elena yelp in the background, and then there was nothing.