kind of a filler chapter, let me know what you think

Chapter Seven

After spilling everything they learned from Sheila to Damon, well, almost everything, the three of them are relaxing in Elena's room.

"Well, ladies, can't say that I didn't immensely enjoy spending this evening with you. It's been informative, to say the least. As much as I dread getting up right now, I hate to admit that I'm getting a tad hungry."

"Guess we're going to have to get you food then, huh?" Elena says as she stretches and stands up. "Now that you mention it, I'm hungry too. And tired. I don't think I've slept in a long while. That means if I faint, it's your duty to carry me home, Damon. I'm counting on you," Elena quips, failing at keeping her smile hidden.

"Oh, it'll be my honor to carry thy beautiful princess home. Bon-Bon, you good with getting food?"

"I've been good with that for an hour, but you two just wouldn't shut up," Bonnie jokes and elbows Damon.

"What? It's not my fault Elena has a big mouth. Honestly, she just kept going on and on and-" Elena manages to effectively cut Damon off by jumping onto his back and slapping his mouth shut.

"Alright, onward, my good man. Don't let thy ladies wait."

"I'm not your chariot, Miss Gilbert, but I'll make an exception just this once. Let's be off, Missus?"

Bonnie rolls her eyes at her two best friends. "I feel like the only normal person here. Hurry up, you idiots, I'm hungry," Bonnie yells as she runs out of the room and out the front door.

"Hold on tight, Miss Gilbert," Damon says with a smirk as he speeds down the stairs and out the door just as Bonnie gets in the car.

When Elena gets off of Damon's back, her eyes are shining brightly. "Oh, my god, that was awesome! You, Damon, have to do that more often," Elena exclaims and then she gives Damon a peck on the lips.

"Your wish is my command," Damon says, grinning to himself.

Bonnie grumbles as she starts the car after Elena and Damon get in. "I sure feel like a third wheel on a date. My best friends are making goo-goo eyes at each other in the backseat while I'm the freaking chauffeur."

"Well, I'll have you know that the third wheel is the most important wheel on a tricycle. We're a tricycle, Bon-Bon!"

Elena pecks Bonnie on the cheek, "Wouldn't want to leave you out of the excitement, hmm?"

Bonnie sticks her tongue out and starts driving to the hospital.

—

When they arrive at their destination, Damon looks slightly confused. "Did I miss the memo? Why are we at the hospital?"

Chuckling at her boyfriend's cluelessness, Elena says "You said you were hungry, we're gonna get you food. No people feeding, just blood bags."

"Oh, right, I'm on a blood diet now. Trying to lose weight, you know?"

"Totally. But you have to stay in the car. You going all vampire-postal in the hospital wouldn't be too good. So, we'll be back." Elena gives Damon a kiss on the cheek before her and Bonnie get out of the car.

When they enter the hospital, Bonnie turns to Elena curiously. "When we were telling Damon everything we learned from Grams, why didn't you mention anything about the humanity switch?"

"If worse comes to worst, I don't want Damon to think that flipping his switch is the only option. Things could get bad, Bon. Sure, they're really good now, but I'm just preparing."

Nodding, Bonnie continues walking with Elena beside her. "Right, that makes sense. So, uh, where exactly are the blood bags? And how are we going to get them…?"

Skidding to a halt, Elena looks around. "I've got a family friend around here...and she's right over there." Elena walks over to the female doctor with Bonnie following close behind.

"Hey, Meredith."

"Oh, hi, Elena. What brings you here today? Nothing's the matter, I hope."

"I just have a friend who could use some O-positive," Elena says nonchalantly.

Bonnie's eyes widen at how blunt Elena was and she's even more shocked when Dr. Fell agrees without question.

"Right this way. We've actually got a lot of donors this year, so our bank is pretty stocked up. More blood means more people that can be saved, right?"

"Mhm," Elena replies without looking Dr. Fell in the eyes.

"Here we are. How many pints do you need?" Dr. Fell questions. When Elena holds up five fingers, she receives five bags of blood.

"Thank you, Meredith. I really appreciate the gesture and so will he," Elena says gratefully.

"Of course, Elena. Call me anytime you need blood, I'll be happy to help," Dr. Fell replies before walking off.

When she's out of earshot, Bonnie turns to Elena, confusion evident in her eyes. "Does she know about vampires? She didn't even question it…"

"I'm not sure if Meredith knows about vampires or not. You know that my dad's a doctor too, so he's always asking for blood to transfuse. I'm guessing that's what Meredith assumed. And yes, Bonnie, before you say anything, I feel bad that we're practically stealing it from the hospital."

"I know there's nothing else we can do, but it kind of sucks, you know?" When she sees Elena's grin, Bonnie says, "Yes, pun intended."

When Elena and Bonnie make it back to the car, they see Damon sprawled out on the backseat. He immediately opens the door and gets out after noticing that they'd returned.

"One for you," Elena says, holding a blood bag out to him.

He grabs the bag and grimaces. "I know drinking blood should be disgusting, but it's even more disgusting that I think it looks delicious. Ugh," Damon shudders. He opens the tube and begins sipping the blood, closing his eyes in satisfaction while veins become visible under his eyes.

While Damon's drinking the blood, Elena turns to Bonnie who can't stop staring at him. She finally gets Bonnie's attention after snapping in her face a couple times.

"Sorry, it's just weird to see him...never mind."

"Yeah, it's a little weird. Uh, I was just wondering if you had any idea where I should keep these? They need refrigerated but it'd be really weird if they were kept in my fridge…"

"Use a cooler. They're portable," Bonnie says with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Good idea. I guess I'll just...keep them in the trunk for now."

While Elena opens the trunk, Damon finishes up the blood bag and reopens his eyes, causing Bonnie to gasp. She's never seen him in his actual vampire form, so sue her if she's a little freaked out.

Elena returns to where Bonnie and Damon are. Seeing that Bonnie's initial reaction is fear, Elena sighs and takes the empty blood bag from Damon's hand.

"Bonnie, can you go throw that away?" Elena hands it to Bonnie who happily takes it and looks for a garbage can.

Turning to Damon, she sees that he's shifting his weight from one foot to the other, which he only does when he's uncomfortable. His face isn't completely back to normal so Elena grabs his hands and traces patterns on them with her thumbs. Gradually, he calms down enough to look human again.

"Did I scare her?" Damon asks quietly, not willing to let go of Elena's hands just yet.

"No, you didn't. She's a little freaked out, but Bonnie's not scared of you. You know how tough she is," Elena murmurs.

"Okay…" Damon mumbles, not entirely sure if he believes that.

When Bonnie returns, she gives Damon a reassuring look before getting into the car. Elena and Damon silently get into the backseat, their hands still interlocked.

—-

By the time they make it to the Grill, most of the tension in the car eased. Although Damon's still holding onto Elena for dear life, his face is more relaxed. Bonnie practically runs inside and sits down at a table immediately. When Elena and Damon get there, Bonnie had already decided on what she wanted.

"God, you guys are so slow! Here I am, dying of starvation, and you two are just taking your grand 'ol time," Bonnie exclaims with a hint of annoyance.

"Pfft, yeah, Damon, stop walking so slow."

"I'm not the one who wanted to pet the friendly lady's dog," Damon retorts.

"It was cute and you know it, Damon," Elena mutters back indignantly.

"Ah, I think someone's grumpy because they're hungry and exhausted."

"Congratulations, genius, you've figured it out."

Their friend, Matt, who works there makes his way over. "Hey, guys. How's it going?"

"Oh, it's going, alright. I feel like my head's gonna drill through the ground, Matt," Elena says with her forehead resting on the table.

"Eh, she's just being dramatic because of hunger and tiredness. We'll have two cheeseburgers with fries, please," Bonnie tells Matt with a smile.

"Nothing for you, Damon?" Matt questions.

"Oh, nah, I already ate." Damon states awkwardly.

"Okay, I'll be right back with your orders." Matt ruffles Elena's hair and walks away.

By the time Matt returns, Damon and Bonnie are sure that Elena fell asleep on the table.

"Alright, guys, here are-"

Matt's cut off by both of their shushes, not wanting to disturb Elena since waking her up will only make her more grouchy.

"We'll take her food to go," Bonnie whispers as she begins eating her meal. "Don't want to wake up Sleeping Beauty."

"Hah, yeah, learned from experience. I'll bring you guys a box." Matt leaves again as Bonnie continues stuffing her face.

"My, my, Bon-Bon, you weren't lying when you said you were starving. How the hell did you finish everything already? You must have-"

"I know what you're going to say, Salvatore, and no, I do not have a big mouth. The simple equation is a hungry Bonnie plus food equals an empty plate in less than five minutes."

"Right, of course. Well, since you're finished and Donovan's bringing the box over now, we should probably get going."

Damon scrapes Elena's food into the box that Matt dropped off and eyes Bonnie. She sighs and picks up the food while Damon carries Elena out to the car.

"I'm probably going to stay over at Elena's tonight. Are you…?" Bonnie asks, cocking her head.

"I'll bring her inside, but I think I'm going to go home. Stefan and I have a lot to talk about, so if Elena asks, that's where I'll be."

Bonnie nods and they drive home in silence. When they pull up at the house, Damon picks Elena up and carries her inside, gently placing her on the bed. After giving her a light kiss on the forehead, he leaves the house, winking to Bonnie on the way out.