"Are you alright?" I asked, standing from the couch, preparing to make my way to my own room, "Do you need anything?" I asked. Since when did I go so soft? I wandered to myself. Then I remembered, it was Elena.
She shook her head, pulling the throw off the back of the couch and placing it over her lap, "No, I'm okay. Get some sleep." She pushed, "You look like hell."
"Yeah, right back at you." I shot, and she couldn't help but giggle.
"Good night, Damon." She called, as I began to make my way up the stairs to my room. There I fell into a restless sleep. I couldn't help but wish I had another body in my bed with me and that body was downstairs on the couch. Of course, for once I didn't want to just have my way with her. I just wanted to be in her presence, because after tomorrow, she might be gone for good.
I awoke in the middle of the night to the sound of breaking china. I eased myself out of bed and snuck down the stairs silently, prepared to pounce on whatever had invaded my house. I turned the corner to the kitchen to a site more shocking than any trespasser, "Elena," I shouted, yanking a half empty bottle out of her hand. She fought for it, before taking another partially emptied bottle off the counter and chugging it until it was empty, "Elena, that has blood in it!" I screamed, grabbing her by the shoulders to keep her from uncapping another bottle.
Tears streamed down her face as she motioned to the spot where a bottle had shattered on the floor. There were several others lying around haphazardly, "Elena, how much have you had to drink?" I asked, eyes narrowing. I knew what was happening.
"I'm not entirely sure. How much was in there?" she asked, peering over to the cabinet. I slowly came to realize that she wasn't drunk, just scared.
"Elena," I whispered as she fell forward and I took her to the ground with me, "I think your baby wants blood." Looking to the cabinet, I quickly realized that the only bottles that were gone were the ones that contained blood.
"There's no way," she cried, tears streaming down her face, "I can't…no…"
"This is starting to sound a lot like the sparkly vampire book."
"No, Damon. This is nothing like 'that sparkly vampire book'. In Twilight, Bella got to keep her vampire, not having him go on some bounty hunt with a mass murderer. And she was married when she started popping out half-breeds. Plus, I think you just equated Tyler to Taylor Lautner, which is kind of creepy."
"Well, you know what," I asked, offering her my hand to help steady herself on the way up from the ground, "There is only one way to test the theory." And with that, we started the long decent down to the cellar, where I stopped her in front of the giant, white freezer, pulling a blood bag, sticking it, and handing it to her, "Drink up." I told her. She stood staring at me, frozen in her spot. Her eyes gradually drifted down to the bag, which she eyed hesitantly, "It tastes worse if it gets warm." I warned, "It's best to drink it fast."
"Damon," she pushed the bag in my direction slowly but surely, "I don't think I can." She stepped away fast, as if that were going to make this whole thing go away.
I grabbed it for myself, "Look, it's easy." I showed her, taking a long drink from it, "The key is to not let it touch the tip of your tongue. If you can manage that, you'll be able to take just about any blood; animal, human or otherwise." I handed her the bag back.
For some reason I began to recollect on when Katherine was just introducing me to human blood. I remembered the trick I had taught myself; don't let the blood touch your tongue. I made it so much easier to muster.
She gave me one final look for reassurance before lifting the blood bag to her lips. She took in the entire bag in one breath, then dropped the empty container to the ground, doubling over, clutching her stomach. I immediately jumped from where I had been leaning against my personal blood bank, "What?" I asked, preparing to grab her around the waste if she fell.
"Nothing, it's nothing." She insisted, standing straight once more, "I think she's kicking." That wasn't exactly what I was expecting to hear. She seemed to lighten at the sensation, though, so I took what I could get.
She suddenly looked up at me, eyes glistening. There was a real, genuine smile on her face; something I hadn't seen in ages, "Do you- you know…want to…"
It occurred to me at the pace of a snail what she was trying to ask. Then I began to back off, feeling somewhat bashful, "No, I don't think-" she waved my comment off in dismissal, before grabbing for my hand and placing it on her tiny bump. There was a tiny jolt under my fingertips, and I saw the raw excitement in her eyes. This was what it was going to take to get the real Elena back. This half vampire, half human, half werewolf…thing.
"That's my baby." She choked, a huge grin gracing her features. Then she gazed up at me, seeming like she had just figured something out, "I'm not afraid." She gasped, taking a moment to absorb the information before bursting into laughter and nearly shouting, "I'm not afraid anymore, Damon."
I chuckled at her excitement. If I didn't know any better, I would have said the alcohol was finally kicking in, but I did know better. I liked knowing that she could be happy and sober at the same time, "Alright," I let her get her laughs out before putting an arm around her waist once more, helping her back up the stairs, "I think you need to get some sleep. You've got a big day tomorrow."
"'Wait, but what are we doing tomorrow?" she questioned, stopping half way up the staircase in confusion.
"I'm taking you to see Alaric, so we can try to figure what that is inside of you." I took her hand, trying to make her continue up the stairs.
"But-" she pulled her hand away, resting it on her stomach, "You talked to Ric without talking to me first? This is my baby, Damon. Besides, I already have a real doctor. I'm a big girl, Damon. I can make my own decisions."
I had to collect myself quickly. I was losing real Elena, "No, I know you can. I just really want to try this. I have a feeling that it could help. I just want to know that you're going to be alright." Whoa, what? Where the hell did that come from?
"Since when do you get to call the shots?" Elena quipped. She was making me ball my fists. I had to cover up for the fact that there was a giant amount of fury bubbling up inside of me.
"Elena, we have to figure out what the deal is with this thing. If it's something valuable. You have to remember Elena, Klaus and Katherine are both still out there somewhere, and if this is something that they want, then this town will be just as bad, if not worse than it was five years ago." She stood there with a vacant expression on her face, "Why don't we just go to sleep and we'll talk in the morning." I scooped her up and speak her up the last couple flights of stairs.
"Damon what are you doing?" she asked, as I tucked her into my own bed.
"You," I began, sitting on the very edge of the bed, "are going to sleep in here tonight, and I am going to sleep on this couch." I said, motioning to the small couch at the foot of the bed, "And if you need anything else, I want you to wake me up."
Elena nodded, pulling the sheets up to her nose. I placed my hand on her forehead, brushing a few loose strands of hair out of her face, before nodding, and turning in to my couch for the remainder of the night. For the first time in months, my sleep was sound.
A/N: Don't forget to review. This is the second chapter that I've posted today. Just let me know how you think it's going. Also, if there is anything you'd like to see happen, let me know. I love hearing your plot bunnies! Five more reviews, and I will post another chapter tomorrow! Love you all!
xMagsx