Over the next hour, Damon saw medical staff go in and out of Elena's room. Each time he sat up eagerly hoping for word on her condition. Finally, Meredith stepped out to talk to him. He stood up immediately to meet her, snapping his mind back to attention. His face was deadly serious, and his voice was dripping with desperation. He asked her, "How is she?"

Meredith could see how red and swollen his eyes were, obviously from crying tears he would never let anyone see. She understood how incredibly hard it had to be on him to keep himself together given the circumstances. She tilted her head slightly to the side and let out a sigh of uncertainty. "She's stable. Her fever is still high, but it's starting to come down. It's at 102.4 right now. We have her wrapped in a cooling blanket to help bring down the fever, and she's receiving cold IV fluids to rehydrate her. Until we get her labs back to find out what we're dealing with, there isn't much more I can do to treat her."

Damon was afraid to ask his next question, but he needed to know, so he could deal with the loss himself and prepare to help Elena when she wakes up. The vulnerability and desperation in his voice was undeniable. He asked, "What about the baby?"

She smiled tightly at him. She looked around to make sure no one was within earshot. "He's fine. I have him on a monitor. His vitals look good. I think you're blood saved him. Elena might not have drunk enough to lower her fever, but it was enough to stop her from miscarrying."

His breath hitched as he choked back the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes again. Despite the positive news, he could still feel his body shaking, as his relief overwhelmed him. He was barely able to get out a hoarse, "Good."

Meredith gave him a sympathetic look and rubbed her hand up and down his arm for reassurance. "The assistant is going to take her up to her room now. She needs to get some rest. When I get her test results back, I'll go over them with you." She looked at the dried bloody mess on his hands and clothes. "Elena probably won't be conscious for a while. You should go home and get cleaned up, put on some clean clothes. If she sees all that blood, it will just make her worry more."

His face was deadly serious. "No way. I'm not leaving her."

She knew her suggestion would be met with resistance, so she already had a back-up plan in mind. She took a few steps away from him to pull some scrubs from the linen cart sitting in the hallway. When she handed them to him, he looked down confused. "Here, you can put these on. I know they're not your style but at least they're clean. I can sneak you into the on call rooms where you can take a shower and change. No unauthorized people are allowed in there, so if you get caught you'll have to compel them. By the time you're done, Elena should be settled in her room."

He furrowed his eyebrows and firmed his lips together. His eyes flitted back and forth from the floor to Meredith, still trying to reign in his emotions. "Thanks for everything."

"You're welcome."

The assistant wheeled a still unconscious Elena out of the triage area to take upstairs to her hospital room. Damon grabbed her hand, as the bed wheeled by, and walked beside her to the elevator. Once they wheeled her into the elevator, Damon reluctantly let go of her hand and the doors shut. He stood there frozen a moment, looking at the elevator door.

Meredith came up beside him. She placed her hand on his back and tilted her head down to look into his lower cast gaze. "Come on, the call rooms are this way." She led him slowly down the hall, winding a few times, until they reached a restricted area. She swiped her identification badge to enter. There were several sleep rooms next to each other all along the hallway. At the end, there was a unisex bathroom with a shower and toiletries. "You can wash up in here. There's some soap and shampoo in the cabinets and some towels on the linen cart. I'm going to go and check on Elena again. When you're done, she'll be in room 215."

"Thanks again Meredith." Meredith just nodded then turned and walked away, leaving him alone. He shut the door to the bathroom and locked it. He looked in the mirror and could see why Meredith suggested he clean up. The amount of blood on him was worse than he thought. A large stain in the center of his shirt nearly covered every inch of fabric. The front of his jeans from his waist to his knees had streaks of blood down them. He had seen how much blood had dried on his hands but wasn't aware, until he looked in the mirror, that he also had a swipe of blood down the side of his neck. He could see now how puffed and red his eyes were. He said out loud to the mirror, "You have to pull yourself together. She can't see you like this."

He threw back the shower curtain and turned the water on, letting the hot water run to warm up. Carefully, he peeled off the clothes that were now stuck to his body where the blood had dried. He placed a towel he'd taken off of the linen cart, on the counter, near the shower, before stepping in. He stuck his head under the shower, reveling in the feel of the warm water washing over him. It soothed the tension in his muscles, he hadn't been aware was there. He stood there a moment, collecting his thoughts, with his hand against the wall, while the water rained down on him. The events of the night flashed in his mind like a nightmare...Elena sweating profusely, her incoherent speech, the convulsing, the blood, and her limp body as he carried her to the car. He attempted to shake it out of his head squeezing his fingers over his eyes. He wiped the dripping water from his face. Grabbing the shower gel from the caddy, he began scrubbing Elena's blood away, watching it, as the red tinted water swirled down the drain. In all the years as a vampire, washing his victim's blood off of his hands had never held so much emotion, as washing off the blood of the woman he loved more than anything and the son he almost lost.

He stayed in the shower longer than he probably should've, but he needed to make sure he was solid before he went to see Elena. He stepped out of the shower and dried off, wrapping the towel around his waist. The scrubs Meredith had given him were lying on the counter next to where the towel had been. He picked up the bottoms noting how flimsy and unflattering they were. Doctors actually see patients in these things? He certainly wasn't shy, but given the fact that he didn't have any underwear to put on, he was well aware of how much he'd be revealing. Well wouldn't be the first time. He removed the towel, pulled on the scrubs and cleaned away the steam from the mirror to comb his hair. Grabbing one of the clear plastic trash bags under the sink, he placed his soiled clothing inside and headed out of the bathroom.

Walking down the hallway, he checked the time on his phone. He'd been in there almost 30 minutes. Damn it. He was on his way to the elevator, when he caught a whiff of blood as a nurse wheeled a bleeding man into an examination room. He felt the pang of hunger creep up on him. He decided it would be a good idea for him to steal a blood bag on his way up. Once he got to Elena's room, he didn't plan on leaving again, and he'd already gone without eating for over 12 hours. He scanned the hallway, looking for an opportunity to swipe some blood. The closest thing he could find was a carrier, filled with blood vials for the lab, sitting on a cart, a phlebotomist had left while she entered another room to do a blood draw. It wasn't much, but he didn't want to waste any more time away from Elena. As a vampire, blood was blood, diseased or not, it didn't affect him either way. He swiped 6 tubes and slipped into the elevator before anyone noticed.

He found Elena's room and walked in. She was hooked up to a heart monitor, attached to the wall above the bed, which read her heart rate and rhythm, blood pressure, and oxygen saturation. At the bedside stood two IV infusion pumps with bags of fluid dripping down the lines into Elena's arm. A nasal cannula tube ran under her nose to provide her with a steady stream of oxygen. She was covered with cooling blankets with the exception of her midsection. Across her abdomen laid a sensor that was hooked up to a fetal heart monitor, positioned to the right of the bed. He could feel his heart ache at how fragile she looked lying there.

He grabbed a chair and pulled it over to sit with her at the bedside. Taking her hand in his, he brushed her hair away from her face. Tonight was a close call. If he hadn't have been there to give her his blood, he could've lost them both. He'd rescued her from the hospital before. That time Klaus was taking her blood, while he was off with Katherine getting information on Mikael. All he had had to do then was disconnect her, carry her out and wait for her to regain her strength. This was different. They had no idea yet what had caused her to become so ill. For the third time in less than 24 hours, he found all he could do was what he hated the most...wait and see. Above all else, he was grateful they were still alive, they still had a chance. He looked up at the monitor above the bed. He wasn't sure if the readings were considered normal, but he did notice they hadn't fluctuated much. He took that as a good sign. His eyes wandered next to the fetal heart monitor beside the bed. The numbers on the monitor were much higher than Elena's, but Damon's ears could hear that the rhythm of the baby's heartbeat was the same as it had always been. The rhythmic sound it made soothed the ache in his heart.

He studied her pale face for even a speck of movement, as he gently stroked her cheek. He ran his thumb back and forth over her fingers he held firmly in his other hand. He thought of all the years he'd spent since he turned, surround by loneliness and pain, longing for a woman who never loved him, never believing he would open his heart up again. Elena had changed that. She saw something in him worth saving, so he let her in, and his love for her changed him. The happiness he had felt over the last 6 months was because of her. He would have a son because of her. The sound of his voice was soft and broken. He whispered, "I love you…so much." He swallowed the lump in his throat. Finally, he allowed the tears to fall from his eyes. He lowered his head, resting it against the bed, just like he did the night his mother died.

Damon had dozed off in the hours that passed since he sat down at Elena's bedside. Even for a vampire, the ordeal had been emotionally and physically draining on him, especially with his limited feeding. It didn't help that he jarred awake when he heard a sound outside of the humming monitors, hoping Elena was finally conscious. Meredith had checked in on them periodically to evaluate the baby and Elena's conditions, startling Damon each time she opened the door. This last time, she pulled out a blood bag from her lab coat pocket and handed it to Damon. "Here, you look like you could use something to eat. This is all I could sneak away at the moment, but I'll get you some more later."

He brought his feet down from their resting place and sat up straighter in the chair, rubbing the sleep away from his eyes, before grabbing the bag. "Thanks. I didn't really want to leave her."

Meredith nodded. "I figured as much. I have the results of Elena's blood work. I looked them over carefully, and the only thing that stood out is that her white blood count is elevated. Since there doesn't appear to be any infections present, the elevation is likely caused by the fever. Also, I noticed her red blood count was low but that's very common with large blood loss. Still, it's not low enough to risk doing a transfusion. Otherwise there were no significant elevations indicating what had caused the fever or her spontaneous bleeding."

Meredith could clearly hear the frustration and exhaustion in Damon's voice. He rubbed his hand down his face still trying to wake up. "You're telling me she went through this and you have no idea why?"

Meredith sighed, "Not exactly. That's just what we found with her basic lab work. But when the toxicology report came back, it showed high levels of menthofuran and pulegone in her system."

He was totally clueless about the medical terminology she was using. As far as he was concerned, she might as well have been speaking a foreign language. She could see the complete lack of comprehension over her findings noticeable in his eyes. He raised his hand out, palm up in question, cocking his head to the side. "Ooo…k. Am I supposed to know what that means?"

"What it means is...she was poisoned."

"What?!"

"We typically see those levels in someone who has received toxic doses of an herb known as Penny-Royal. A large enough amount of the herb can cause fevers, convulsions and organ failure. But what it is most commonly used for is…inducing a natural abortion."

His mouth suddenly dropped open and his face contorted. He let out a gasp in horror at the news. He could feel the fury rising in him. Through gritted teeth, he seethed, "Are you fucking kidding me?"

With all seriousness on Meredith's face, she replied, "I'm sorry, I wish I were."

Damon stood up and began pacing, rubbing his chin, his thoughts racing. "How does someone get poisoned with this coin stuff?"

"It's typically used in air fresheners. But for it to be used as a poison, it would have to be ingested. People who use it as a natural abortive substance typically ingest it in the form of tea."

He stopped in front of her, giving her a deadly serious stare. His chest rose and fell in anger as he laid the situation out. "Elena stops on her way to class to grab some tea. Someone slips this in her cup. Either someone knows the truth about him or they were trying to kill Elena."

Meredith nodded. "Given how high her levels were I'd say probably both. The good news is, now that we know what is causing the fever, I can treat her. I'm going to give her a bolus of N-acetylcysteine, which will help neutralize the poison. Since all positive toxicology reports get sent to the state, I'll have to contact Sheriff Forbes and let her know what's going on."

It took every remaining ounce of strength in him to try to contain his anger and the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. As calmly as he could, he managed, "Tell Liz I want to talk to her. We need to find out who did this. They need to pay. I'm not giving them another chance to try again."

"Will do. I'll be back shortly with the medication." She headed towards the door. Before she left, she turned back around towards Damon. "Damon, I know you're upset but just remember what Elena needs right now is you. The anger and revenge can wait until later."

With an almost imperceptible nod, and a slow blink of his eyes, Meredith knew she'd gotten through to him. Damon walked over to the chair next to Elena's bed and dropped back down in defeat. He grabbed the blood bag, ripping the cap off, and raised it in cheers to Meredith.

She gave him a sympathetic smile. "I'll be right back to start the treatment."

An hour and a half after Meredith had hung the antidote; Damon was still sitting in the chair staring straight ahead. He was deep in thought, contemplating his next move. Suddenly, he heard a beeping sound coming from the monitor above his head. He looked up concerned. Something was wrong and noticed Elena's heart rate was rising. Before complete panic set in, he heard the most heartwarming sound he could hope for. Hoarse and weak Elena croaked, "Damon?"

His eyes snapped towards her in surprise. His shoulders relaxed in relief and a huge smile spread across his face. Damon leaned towards her grabbing her hand. Softly, lovingly he said, "Hey, you're finally awake."

Her voice was raspy from dryness. Her lips were sticking together as she tried to talk. "Water, can I have some?"

"Of course." He jumped up excitedly and grabbed the cup on the bedside table. He rushed over to the bathroom sink to fill it. He took the straw and placed it carefully to her lips. She raised her head slightly to meet the straw. Damon's hand instinctually cupped the nape of her neck for support.

When she was done, she lowered her head again to the pillow. Damon set the cup aside then scooted his chair closer to sit down. Elena's eyes were partially closed, looking at him through small slits. The next time she spoke, her voice was a little clearer but still very weak. She looked at him perplexed. "What are you wearing?"

Damon pulled his scrub top forward, pinching it between his thumb and forefinger. He gave her a sarcastic smirk. "What these? They're all the rage, latest fashion statement."

She smiled weakly at his attempt at humor, knowing full well he wouldn't be caught dead in something like that any other time. Her face turned serious. "What happened?"

"You had a fever remember? I couldn't get it to break so I brought you in." He wasn't sure if she had been conscious enough at the time to remember the bleeding. He truly hoped she didn't. Remembering all that blood would just upset her.

Elena's eyes opened a little wider, as she looked at the ceiling, recalling the night. "That's right. I remember now." Damon noticed her expression change to deep worry. She raised her hand to touch her stomach and started to cry.

"Elena, what's wrong? Are you in pain?"

She brought her hand up to wipe away the tears that were just starting to stream down. She choked out, "He's gone isn't he?"

He frowned at her question. Answering quickly, he said, "What? No, he's fine."

Giant sized tears continued to run down her cheeks. Her eyes looked up at the ceiling as if pleading with God. "No, please! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!" Her shoulders heaved as she cried out.

Damon leaned closer to brush her hair back, trying to sooth her. "Shhh, shhh…he's fine Elena. It's going to be ok. Everything is going to be ok."

Damon's reassurance wasn't enough to stop her sobbing. She tried to choke back her tears. She asked, "Then why can't I feel him?" Her hand gently caressed her stomach.

"I don't know. Maybe it has to do with the antidote." He could see she didn't believe him. She started crying harder this time, placing both hands over her face in despair. He gently pulled her hands away to look her in the eyes. "Elena? Elena, look at me. He's fine, I promise. I would never lie to you about that."

Looking in his loving blue eyes, she knew he was telling her the truth. Her breathing was ragged from crying, but she was starting to regain her composure. "He's really ok? Can you hear his heartbeat?"

Damon smiled down at her, wiping away a tear from her cheek with his folded fingers. He nodded. "Strong as ever. See for yourself." He pointed to the fetal monitor to the right of her bed.

Elena raised her head looking over to see the readings. She didn't know exactly what they meant but seeing the steady beat on the monitor granted her some relief. With her tension eased some, she relaxed back down on the pillow. She shook her head trying to clear it. Not sure she heard him correctly. She asked, "Did you say antidote?"

Damon let out a deeply frustrated sigh. "You were poisoned."

Her eyes widened in shock. "Poisoned?" A painful realization settled over her that their biggest fear had just happened. He knew the truth. "Klaus."

"I don't think so. Klaus wouldn't be so subtle. He would've kidnapped you and bled you dry then killed you. He definitely wouldn't want to waste your blood. No, someone else did this."

"Who?"

Damon's face tightened in barely controlled anger and determination. "I don't know, but they're going to be sorry when I find out." Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Elena staring at him in concern. His expression softened as he looked back at her. He grabbed her hand for support. "I don't want you to worry about anything. You just need to get some rest ok?"

Elena licked her dry lips. "Ok. I love you." Still desperately afraid, she pleaded. "Please don't leave me."

He looked her dead in the eyes. With the most serious tone, he replied, "Never."