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Firework

To Protect

3rd Person P.O.V.

Bella's closest family and friends stood listening from behind the door, Caroline relaying the full conversation happening outside between the girl and the vampire for the non-super hearing endowed ones of the group. Bella was definitely making them proud. Especially Damon, there was a reason he had nicknamed her WildCat and she was certainly living up to it now.

It went against every instinct that both Alaric and Damon had to leave Bella outside on her own with a Cold One, especially one that lusted after her blood so much. Both men were on the same wave length, thinking how much they wanted to hurt the bastard stood out on the porch with the girl that they both cared so much about.

Alaric however knew that he had to give Bella a chance to prove herself. She needed that independence, and she needed that knowledge that they trusted her to make her own decisions, not have someone else make them for her. She'd had enough of that already in her short life time. That and she'd proven herself time and time again to Ric, proven that she could handle whatever life threw at her. That she was strong. Ric was going to make sure that although he watched out for her, that she carried on proving to herself just how strong she was.

Damon however thought no such thing, he knew his Wildcat was strong, everyone here did, as far as he was concerned she had nothing to prove. Leaving her alone with a sparkly fuckwit with no restraint was an unnecessary danger. Caroline had to keep restraining him from going out there and ripping the fucker apart.

They all heard it as Bella hit Edward, and inwardly every member of the group was cheering the girl on.

Damon though needed to go out there, he needed to stop the douche from retaliating, he needed to make sure she hadn't hurt herself like she did when she hit wolf boy.

He started making his way to the door once more, his anger burning brightly in his eyes for everyone to see. Caroline stepped in his way, Bonnie watching carefully, if Care couldn't keep Damon at bay then she would. Bella deserved this; some payback of her own.

"Let me out Caroline." Damon growled out, his voice as dark and dangerous as the furious expression on his face.

"No Damon. Bella needs to do this on her own. She'll be fine. She's got the vervain gloves, which obviously work, and she's handling herself out there. You need to calm down and let her do it." Caroline said in a serious tone that she hardly ever used.

"She's had time." Damon started saying with still the same anger.

"We're not going to interfear until she asks us to Damon. You know her better than to tell her what to do or take her choices from her. You wanna be like that jerk out there was?" Alaric asked the vampire without fear. He knew Damon wouldn't hesitate to snap all of their necks right now, but he also knew that the last thing the vampire wanted to do was hurt Bella, and that would surely make Bella hate him.

Over the groups arguing and attempts to restrain Damon they failed to hear Bella outside, who was trying to get to them, to gain their protection.

~0~

"Elena stay in the car!" Stefan barked out as they pulled up outside of the Gilbert house. They'd enjoyed the day together away from the drama of the supernatural as well as the regular teen drama that seemed to constantly surround them. Just being a normal couple for once. Now they were back and so was the drama it seemed. Elena groaned as Stefan shot out of the car just barely managing to move at human speed. Something was obviously really wrong. Yet again.

Elena craned her neck to see what was happening, looking to her house, a shiver of fear running through her. She hoped nothing bad had happened to any of her loved ones.

When Elena saw what was going on she got out of the car instantly and ran to help. "Bella!" She shouted out as she ran.

Bella was out on the porch alone with a Cold One, and it looked like it was trying to eat her, it towered over her as she was backing away, moving slowly, like a predator stalking it's prey. Elena saw Bella raising her gloved hands and hitting the Cold One in the face. She reached the bottom of the porch as the vampire let out a feral raw of pain and anger, Stefan flung himself in front of the Cold One and shouted for Bella to get into the house.

The door opened and Damon stepped out looking as wild as the Cold One did.

In a flash he was stood next to Bella taking her in his arms and moving her to the relative safety of home. Elena was surprised to see Damon being as gentle as he was, especially with that wild look on his face.

As soon as Bella was inside Bonnie stepped outside, her eyes flickering to Elena before taking in the three vampires on the porch. She needed to disable to Cold One who was trying to reach the house so desperately that Damon and Stefan were having a hard time holding him back despite being stronger.

Focusing, Bonnie sent Edward a magical migraine, watching in satisfaction as he stopped struggling and dropped to the floor howling in pain, his hands clutching at his head.

The problem was Bonnie was now running two spells side by side. As strong as the witch was she could feel the power she was using draining her, stripping her from the inside out. She could feel her own headache starting and the pressure forming that was sure to mean one of her nose bleeds would soon be making an appearance.

"Bonnie!" Elena gasped, she could see that the witch was starting to lose control, thick red blood started running steadily from her nose, and her body started shaking slightly.

"Get inside! Both of you!" Stefan shouted out to the two teenage girls, his teeth gritted as he held the Cold One down. He thought that his type of vampire were stronger? Maybe he was weaker because of his diet? If that were the case he'd have to seriously think about changing it. He couldn't be weak now, he had to protect the ones he cared about.

Now the bloodlust had started to abate slightly, Edwards quick mind was wondering about a myriad of things. How was Bella able to hurt him? That Bonnie girl was obviously a witch, she was casting some spell on him, to make his strength that of a human obviously, as well as giving him the worst pain since his transformation. And although he hated feeling weak by the hands of Bella's supposed boyfriend, he could be nothing but glad the witch had cast the spell on him; he didn't know what he'd have done if he had succeeded in hurting Bella as his basic instincts had wanted him too. That must also be the reason that his gift wasn't working on these people, Alice's as well. The witch.

Damon was beyond furious as the door shut behind Bonnie, he seized the Cold One by the neck and shoved him against the wall, his grip tightening so that his fingers were cutting into the stone like flesh of Edward's neck. Loathing and hate filling his voice as he spoke. "I told you what I would do if you hurt her or upset her." With that Damon pulled his fist back and sent a punch to Edwards face, the force used would have killed any normal man, but only managed to crack Edwards marble face, though Damon enjoyed the sound of pain escaping the dick. "I told you I would end you." A knee to Edwards stomach and Damon could hear the shattering there as well as the roar of pain that escaped once more.

Damon lifted his fist once more and went to deliver another punch, his fury so high that he wanted to keep inflicting pain with his hands for a while before tearing off pieces and burning them for hurting his Bella.

However Edward had other ideas, he pushed the man off of him, using the feeble amount of strength that a human had, thanks to the witch. He was both surprised and shocked when the dark haired man only stumbled slightly from the force. But his shock didn't last long, he needed to get away, back to the safety of his family, and they needed to have a long talk about this new threat surrounding Bella.

Edward was gone in a blink, or a blink to humans eyes anyway. Damon and Stefan saw him going as sure as they would have seen a cat stalking a pigeon in front of them.

Damon was still beyond furious, all he wanted to do was rip apart the dick who'd dared try to hurt his Isabella, every instinct in him demanded he go finish off the threat right then. And Damon always went with his instinct, which was how he'd managed to get himself in so much trouble before.

As the dark haired vampire moved to go after the sparkling fucker who had the stones to even think about hurting what was his, Stefan moved to stand in his way, the usual frown present on his forehead. Good thing he can't get wrinkles, otherwise his baby brother would look ninety before he knew it, Damon thought to himself, a little hypocritically as a deep scowl marred his own features.

Stefan stopped Damon who went to move passed him with one softly spoken word. "Bella." Two warring sides in Damon started up. First was the desire, no the need, to end the life of the dick who was going to drain Rocky, who'd caused her so much distress and pain even before today's actions. The second though was the impulse to make sure that his Klutz was okay, to check her over. The impulse grew in him till it became so strong that he had no option but to act on it.

"The next time any of us so much as puts eyes on him, he's dead." Damon commanded, Stefan only nodded in reply, knowing that no other response would satisfy his brother.

~0~

B.P.O.V.

I ignored the sting of pain in my hands as I fought against the people trying to hold me back from the door. I knew enough to know that I'd done some damage to them when I'd hit Edward, not just the first time but the second and third too. That didn't stop me from trying to push my way past Caroline though, despite knowing the fruitlessness my actions would bring.

"Bella they'll be fine calm down." Caroline sounded like she was begging me, but I didn't care. I needed to get back out there. I desperately needed to do this.

"They're going to get hurt because of me Caroline! I can't let that happen! Please!" I tried to reason as best as I could while my mind was going blank with terror.

Jeremy came up and wrapped his arms around me from behind, both restraining and comforting in equal measure. "They'll be fine. There's one of him and three of them B. They'll be fine." Jer's voice was calm and soothing, he spoke with a certainty that I didn't have.

"It's my fault they're out there Jer." I said, tears of frustration and terror jumping into my eyes.

The door opened and Jeremy slackened his arms from around me, I heard his breath of relief as Bonnie and Elena rushed through before slamming the door firmly shut behind them.

Bonnie had blood dripping steadily from her nose and was looking weak. My heart dropped, it was because of me, she was hurting because of me. Stefan and Damon were still out there, they could still be hurt.

I hugged Elena and then Bonnie, my own relief that they were fine burning away in my stomach along with my ever present worry and guilt.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked me seriously, as she pulled away from my embrace.

I brushed aside her question, I didn't matter, what mattered was my friends and family right now. "Are you?" I asked her, scanning over her quickly to make sure she didn't have a scratch. I didn't see one but I didn't expect to, Stefan would have made sure she was fine.

"I'm fine, what happened?" Elena asked me, but was distracted by Jenna who threw herself into a hug with the younger girl, her relief so strong I swear I could see it.

"Bonnie, are you okay?" I asked gently as she was still being held softly by Jeremy.

"I'm okay, I'm fine." She replied with a smile for me, but I could see the lie she was passing off.

Nodding my head as I knew she could be as stubborn as me I tensed myself ready. My two breakable friends were inside, they were safe. But Damon and Stefan weren't. They could be hurt. As everyone else was speaking amongst themselves, hugging and worrying I made my way quietly to the door. I had to stop this. I had to help the two brothers outside. It was my fault that Edward was here, so it was my job to stop him.

"Caroline!" Alaric said sharply as my hand rested on the door, ready to open it.

Caroline had me backed up the stairs and away from the door quicker than I could blink. That was new and different, no-one had ever made sure to watch over me before when other people were safe and well. But here was my Uncle, watching me, making sure I couldn't get hurt, even when it looked like the danger had mostly passed. There was Ric, knowing me and exactly what I would do if I thought someone I cared about was in danger, it would have been touching if it weren't so annoying.

"I need to know that they're okay." I whispered to Caroline.

"I'll tell you what's going on if you stop moving long enough!" Care berated me with an eye roll.

I was pretty sure that was the best I was going to get so I nodded.

A look of pure concentration spread over Caroline's face and she moved her head so that one ear was facing the doorway.

"He's gone they're coming in." Caroline said to me, letting me go as I moved to go around her.

"Thanks Care." I whispered as I moved down the stairs as quickly as I could without falling and giving myself a concussion.

Before I could reach the door it opened and in came the two vampires who had saved my life. Stefan was first through the door, his eyes instantly seeking out Elena, assessing her with his usual serious frown. He seemed fine, no injuries at all. I let out a sigh at that before my eyes focused on the other vampire who walked into the overcrowded hallway and shut the door behind him. My stomach was in anxious knots as I took him. He had no limp, no limbs missing, no bloodstains, nothing, he was fine. He was fine, I reassured myself.

Damon's icy blue eyes sought me out, raking over every inch of me to make sure that I was okay, the same way I had done with him. He moved sleekly through our gathered friends till he was stood towering over me and bringing with him the perfect sense of being safe and protected once more.

"Are you okay?" I asked my head leant back to look in his eyes, assessing whether he was in any pain or not. To make sure that my brief glance had the right conclusions, that he was in fact fine.

"Of course I am Rocky. You think that Doucheward out there could hurt me? Seriously?" Damon rolled his eyes at me.

"I was worried." I defended myself.

"Are you okay?" Damon asked me in a serious tone of voice that was so unusual to hear from the vampire.

"I'm fine." I said briefly before moving on. "What happened?" I asked quickly.

"Yeah, cause I'm just going to buy that your fine after you had a boxing match with a piece of stone. Right Rocky." Damon said with another eye roll at me. He pushed me through the throng and towards the living room, not stopping for anyone's questions as he moved me.

Everyone else moved through to the larger room with us, watching in silence as Damon sat me down on the sofa his eyes coming to rest on my gloved hands, that now I had stopped worrying were starting to throb and sting slightly.

Damon went to take the gloves off of my hands for me, his face and motions soft.

"Don't." I warned him. "They're covered in vervain." I went to remove them myself, despite the pain that shot through my hands at the slightest movement.

Damon watched my face as I started to remove the gloves myself, a frown appearing over his beautiful features once more. I held back the sudden urge I had to reach out and smooth his worried brow.

Damon placed his own hands around my wrists, stopping me from removing the gloves. His eyes stared into my own as he started pulling off the heavy metal things with his fingers. His face never once showed that he was in pain, instead his eyes remained locked with my own.

"Now let's see." Damon said lightly as he chucked the gloves away from us, he his face bent to inspect my hands. The sight was slightly worrying. And more so was the fact that even though I'd wrecked my hands they didn't hurt that much.

My knuckles were swollen and bloody, two of them looked as though they were in a completely different place to where they should be. Obviously broken.

"Yeah. You're fine alright Rocky. Nothing some pyshco therapy and surgery shouldn't fix anyway." Damon said sarcastically over the gasps of everyone surrounding us.

"It doesn't hurt that bad." I said in honesty. "I've had worse."

"Well that's all that matters then. Don't worry about the fact that your not gonna be able to feed yourself for a while, you've had worse." Damon was getting angry now, I could see it and hear it. I diffused the situation the only way you could with Damon, by making a joke out of it.

"At least this one isn't going to give me a magical scar. I've had enough of the Harry Potter jokes."

"Funny." Damon said back, the sarcasm still heavily present in his words.

"Thanks I like to think I'm hilarious." I quipped back, using his own words against him.

Damon looked at me, his eyes hard before his face changed. His eyes became blood red where the whites should be, dark protruding veins appeared around his thick lower lashes and his teeth elongated into two fierce looking fangs. The monster from myths was suddenly sat in front of me.

It was the first time I'd ever seen his 'vampire face' and the sight should be sending me screaming and running for the nearest bus away from town. But instead I still felt safe, still felt protected, and Damon looked as handsome to me as he always did.

Damon kept his eyes firmly on me for a few seconds, watching my reaction to him showing me his darker side for a minute. I don't know what he saw but the surprise the crossed his face showed me it wasn't what he was expecting.

Slowly, so as not to scare me I guessed, he brought his wrist up to his mouth and bit down, blood began running steadily down his chin. Despite my aversion to blood all I wanted to do was reach out and wipe it away, though I was breathing through my mouth so that I couldn't smell it.

"Drink Bella." Damon said, his voice so quiet that it was almost a whisper, his bloody wrist offered up to me.

Gently I wrapped my hands around his big wrist and brought it to my mouth. Everything in me was screaming at me not to drink, every bit of me but a tiny voice in the back of my head that urged me to do what Damon said, that he'd look after me, protect me, that he wouldn't hurt me and that it was for my own good.

I listened to that tiny voice, the same one that brought doubts to my mind when I'd been with Edward, the one that got louder when danger was round. I started drinking the blood, almost retching as the thick liquid glided down my throat. Although the texture was bile inducing the taste was surprisingly good; warm and sweet. It tasted almost like Damon smelt, like sunshine, danger and the oldest, finest whiskey.

"That is the... Grossest thing I've ever seen." Jenna blurted out as I finished taking Damon's blood, my hands feeling as good as new except for a slight ache that I now knew from experience would disappear once I'd slept well.

"That was the hottest thing I've ever seen." Caroline countered sounding awed.

Blushing furiously I broke away from Damon's wrist, staring down at my now fine hands instead of look at anyone.

"Better?" Damon asked, I could hear a gruffiness to his voice that I couldn't quiet place.

"Yes. Thanks." I mumbled, embarrassed that we just done something that felt so intimate in front of a room full of people. Because there was no denying that the blood drinking was intimate.

"What happened? Why was Bella left alone with a Cold One?" Elena asked, her eyes looking anywhere but at Damon and I.

"That was Edward." Jenna supplied.

"Your ex?" Stefan asked, his eyes snapping first to me then to his brother.

"The boy himself." I said.

~0~

We sat discussing what to do about Edward and his family for a very long time. Stefan and Damon were all for hunting Edward down and killing him before telling the rest of the Cullen's to take a hike. Surprisingly Ric and Caroline agreed with this option. Both were looking at me with anger and pity in their eyes as they voiced their opinions.

Jenna hoped that now Edward had almost killed me and saw that I had moved on that he would leave the area anyway.

Jeremy suggested that we take up battle positions because nothing in Mystic Falls was ever that simple. We killed him it would bite us in the ass, we left it we'd get bit in the ass. Bonnie quietly agreed, though I could see it worried her.

"What do you want to do Bella? What do you think that the Cullen's will do? This is your decision, no-one else's." Elena said softly to me, though her eyes were glued to Stefan's, she wouldn't look at me and I wasn't entirely sure why. It must be because she was annoyed with me, after all I was the reason that vampires were attacking twice in one day, the reason her and all of her loved ones were in danger. My stomach dropped at that realisation.

I thought seriously before speaking. "Edward will be ashamed of what he did. But I don't know what he'll do about it. I don't know him anymore. I don't think they'll attack at any rate but they might come and try to see me. Also they might just go off again with no warning. I don't know." I said honestly, once upon a time I'd have been able to say exactly what the vampires would have done, but it was obvious I hadn't known them as I thought I had, just as they didn't know me anymore.

"Just because they're not attacking doesn't mean we shouldn't. If they're dead it's then there's a few less fucked up shiny vampires to worry about." Caroline stated heatidly. I could hear anger in her voice, and as she looked at me I could see it was all for the way the Cullen's had treated me previously, my heart swelled with love and affection for one of my best friends. A true friend.

"I never thought I'd say this. But I agree with vampire Barbie." Damon said, his face still not having lost it's anger. He was now sat on the sofa next to me, his hands with mine firmly wrapped in his own. The contact though innocent sent electricity shooting through my hands and down my spine. Just like everytime he touched me.

"Look we're just going round in circles here. I say we leave it. If he turns up again then we deal." Jenna made her final opinion known.

"I agree." Jeremy and Elena said at the same time before sharing a quick but downcast smile between them.

"I think Jenna's right too." I said quietly, I didn't know what to think. The thought of Edward dead... Well it didn't bother me that much, all I felt for him now was a deep burning anger. An anger at the way he felt he could control me, the way he thought he knew what was best for me, the way he disregarded my opinion as though it meant nothing, the way... Well the list went on and on. "If he comes back, we'll deal with it as we need to."

"Wildcat, I'm telling you this only once." Damon started saying, his voice full of anger and a wildness I hadn't yet heard from him, his tone broking no argument. "If he so much as looks at you in the wrong way I'll dismember him, light a bonfire and start singing Cum-by-ya round his smoking corpse." No hint of a joke was in his words as he spat them out. I couldn't argue. All I could do was nod.

~0~

3rd Person P.O.V.

A scream of terror and heartbreak jerked the sleeping residents of the Gilbert house awake. Everyone jumping out of their sleep instantly.

At the top of the hallway Ric, Jenna, Jeremy, Elena and Stefan all met, each carrying a weapon that would be enough to maim a Cold One. Stefan and Ric took the lead in rushing into Bella's room, both stopping in surprise at what they saw.

Damon was laid, fully clothed on Bella's bed with the quivering girl held tightly to his chest. He was shushing her while smoothing down her tangled, sweaty hair, his actions so gentle, his face arranged into a look of care and tenderness that seemed foreign to them both.

Ric although not overly happy seeing the vampire take care of his niece backed quietly out of the room, his eyes silently warning Damon as they locked onto the vampires. Damon's face hardened but he gave a barely decernable nod as he carried on soothing Bella, who had obviously just had another very bad nightmare.

As Stefan and Ric backed out of the room they shut the door lightly, turning to face the worried but ready family still poised in the hallway outside of the girls room.

"She's okay, it was a nightmare." Ric said in a whisper, not letting on what he'd seen for some reason even he couldn't explain. All he knew was that it didn't fill him with a happy, calm feeling to know that Damon was the one looking after Bella.

~0~

Damon sat in the corner of Bella's room, he had been here since she'd fallen asleep three hours ago. He couldn't bring himself to leave, worried that Edward would come back, while at the same time also hoping the stupid ass would as well.

Damon watched with a frown as a crease appeared on the ravishing woman in front of him's forehead. Her heart started beating wildly, she started tossing and turning, mumbling words that started getting clearer the longer she was in the state.

"No... No... Please... No Edward... No! Damon!... Help Damon!... Please!"

That was all it took before Damon was off the floor and on the bed, so fast that he hadn't even realised he'd done it.

He wrapped the beautiful, delicate girl in his arms, shushing her and cradling her, trying desperately to help her through her nightmare. "I've got you Rocky, I've got you, you're okay."

"Damon... Help Damon!" She muttered again, her voice getting louder, her heartbeat getting wilder, she wasn't calming as he'd hoped. His touch not reassuring her like he wanted it to. Though she'd stopped fighting, curling into him instead, her whimpers muffled by her face pressed firmly into his chest.

Bella took a shuddering breath and before Damon knew what was happening she let out a pain filled scream.

"Shit!" He jumped before trying to wake Bella as calming her obviously wasn't working. "C'mon Wildcat, it's okay I'm here. I'm here. Wake up Isabella. Wake up."

Bella woke with a jerk, a strangled cry coming from her as she did. "Damon?" She gasped looking up into his eyes, sweat was pouring off of her and she was shaking. That must have been one hell of a nightmare, he thought.

"I'm here Bella, it's okay I'm here. I won't let anything happen." Damon said in a soft whisper. He pulled the girl back into his chest and started stroking her hair again, relaxing slightly as she curled back up into him. Her whimpers dying down.

She had closed her eyes and started breathing easily once more as the door to her room opened. Ric and Stefan charging in like the heroes Saint Stefan thought he was. Both men stopped short and looked at the two curled up in bed in surprise. Damon raised an eyebrow at his brother but didn't stop soothing Bella as best as he could. She was all that mattered right now. Everything else could wait.

As they started backing out of the room Damon looked to Ric, seeing clearly the warning his friend was shooting him with his eyes. He understood. And he wouldn't do anything inappropriate or anything to hurt this wonderful girl in his arms. Slowly and shortly Damon nodded to let the other man know his understanding.

As the door shut Damon rested his head on Bella's. Despite everything that had happened today, he still hadn't had that talk he'd been promising himself with her. And now he needed to add somethings to the talk. Tomorrow was going to be interesting. That was for sure.

~0~

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I'm posting while at work (sneakily) so make my night and leave a review! :)