Damon pulled back into the boarding house driveway and shut off the car, getting out with vampiric speed and blurring over to Elena's door and opening it. She was still unconscious, and Damon was starting to worry. He reached in and swept a lock of brown hair out of her eyes, biting his lip; she really was beautiful. For a human, her perfection was almost eerie. He sighed and unbuckled her seatbelt, gently picking her up and carrying her, bridal style, up to the front door, which he kicked open.

"Damon, is that… oh, my gosh!"

Caroline had rushed in to see if he had found Elena, and the sight before her eyes was frightening. Elena was unconscious in Damon's arms, and for a moment Caroline was terrified she was dead. "Is she okay?" she gasped, rushing forward.

"Give me some room, Caroline," Damon instructed and Caroline quickly shut the door and followed him upstairs. He walked into his bedroom, which was large and extravagant with an on suite bathroom and a huge four poster bed with a gold comforter. He carried Elena over to the bed and pulled back the covers, lying her down as gently as possible. He figured that, in the state she was in, it would be best to keep her comfortable. He happened to have the house's best bed, and, if he intended on keeping an eye on her, it only made sense that she be in his room.

"What can I do to help?" Caroline asked and Damon sighed as he sat on his bed beside Elena's sleeping figure. "Get me a washcloth, will you?" Damon asked, noticing the blood that still coated Elena's neck and chest where she had been bitten and left to bleed out. Caroline nodded and shot out of the room. Damon could hear her in the bathroom down the hall, rummaging around for the softest cloth, and then turning on the sink. A moment later she was back, a soft red washcloth in hand. "Here," she said, passing it to him.

"Thanks," Damon said, proceeding to gently wipe away the blood on her throat.

"What happened to her?" Caroline finally asked. Damon rolled his eyes, "What does it looked like happened to her, Care?"

"Well, I know that; I meant who did it?"

Damon's eyes narrowed in disgust as he remembered, "It was Franklin."

"The big guy with the buzz cut?"

Damon nodded.

"What did you do to him?"

Damon gently dabbed at Elena's face, attempting to rouse her, "I killed him."

Caroline was silent for a moment, shocked. Then, she said in a disbelieving whisper, "You… killed him?"

Damon turned his angry eyes on her, "What? Do you think I shouldn't have killed the bastard?"

Caroline took a surprised step backward, "No, I didn't say that…?"

"Then why are you so surprised that I killed him?"

She bit her lip, "Well… it's why you killed him that confuses me. She's just a human…"

Damon snorted, "This coming from the girl who was desperate for me to go find her?"

"That isn't what I meant! I like her, whether she's a human or not. It's you I don't understand. You seemed to hate her this morning after Rebekah caught the two of you… indecent together. Yet, you still killed Franklin for hurting her instead of just bringing her here and letting him go. Call me crazy, but… I think you care about her, Damon."

Damon glared, "What do you know?"

Caroline shrugged, a small smile on her lips, "Nothing, I guess. Forget I said anything." She started for the door, but paused and turned back around to face him, "Damon?"

"What?" he snapped, having returned to gently sponging Elena's cheeks.

"It's okay if you do care about her. If you're worried about your badass reputation… I won't tell anyone."

Damon grinned a bit and rolled his eyes, "Good bye, Caroline."

She smiled before walking out of the room and shutting the door. Damon sighed once she was gone, gazing, very worried, at the still unconscious girl before him. "Come on, Elena," he urged softly, "Wake up, sweetheart…"

VvvvV

Damon had started to doze off from boredom after a few hours when Elena finally stirred. She turned her head weakly to face him, her eyes not containing their usual sparkle. "Damon…?"

His head jerked up in surprise when he heard her voice, and he smiled in relief, "Oh, thank goodness… it's about time."

Elena gave him a small smile, "I'm sorry… how long have I been out?"

Damon checked his watch, "Four hours. I was starting to get worried."

She looked around the room in confusion, "Where am I…?"

"My bedroom," Damon said, standing up and dashing into his bathroom, coming out a few seconds later with a damp cloth. He dabbed at her face with the cool cloth in attempt to keep her conscious. Elena smiled, looking around the room, "It's nice."

He gave a small laugh, "Thanks," he bit his lip, "How do you feel?"

She shrugged, "Alright. I can't remember what happened to me, though…"

Damon frowned, feeling guilty, "You wondered off on your own this afternoon… and you got attacked by a vampire tonight. Elena, I'm so sorry; it's my fault…"

She frowned as memories began to flood back; the big vampire with the buzz cut, him biting her and drinking sloppily before dumping her in an alley to bleed to death. Behind the buzzing in her ears as she began to lost consciousness, she had heard voices talking out in the main square. The next thing she remembered were those intense blue eyes staring into hers, and him pulling her close and… biting into his wrist…? "I drank your blood," she said, her eyes wide, "It healed me. How did it heal me…?"

"Vampire blood has healing qualities. I'm still not entirely sure how that works, but it does."

Elena blinked a few times to clear her head, "You saved my life."

"I put it in danger first."

She shook her head, "It wasn't your fault. It was my own decision to wonder off… it's not like you could force me to stay with you."

He grinned a bit, "Technically I could have," he pointed to his eyes, "Compulsion, remember?"

Elena gave a weak laugh, "Oh, yeah," she smiled at him, "But you didn't. Why didn't you?"

Damon sighed, running a hand through his silky black locks, "Because I'm an idiot, that's why. If I had just compelled you, this never would have happened…"

Elena reached over and took his hand in her own, looking into his blue eyes with her own amber orbs, "Damon," she said quietly, "I'm glad that you didn't. I know that I can trust you because you didn't. You let me make my own choice, even if it was," she blushed, "incredibly stupid."

Damon couldn't help the small smile that quirked at his lips; her blush was adorable. Rebekah never looked like that…

He frowned; what was he thinking? He loved Rebekah; Elena was just a human who seemed to need to frequently be saved. There was nothing adorable about her…

She looked up at him with her big brown eyes, and Damon frowned; he needed to get out of there before he started thinking something else that was… completely ridiculous. "Well, if you're feeling alright, I think I'm going to… go into town."

Elena nodded, looking at him curiously, "Of course. You didn't have to stay with me…"

Damon stood up and started for the door, grabbing his jacket, "Caroline is downstairs if you need anything. I'll see you tomorrow."

He had started to dart out the door when Elena called his name, "Damon?"

He cursed himself for stopping and turned around, "What?"

She smiled sheepishly at him, "Thank you; for saving me. Again…"

He grinned and shook his head, "Don't mention it."

Elena blushed again, "I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble… I feel horrible for imposing so much…"

Damon grinned and rolled his eyes, "You're not imposing, Elena. Just get some rest, alright?"

She nodded, snuggling deeper into his sheets and shutting her eyes. Damon lingered in the doorway for another moment, watching her, a confused crease in his brow; why did the image of her, curled up in his bed make him feel so… happy?

More importantly, why was he mentally comparing the vision of Elena in his bed, to Rebekah? There was no comparison.

As he dashed down the stairs and out the door nervous about his own thoughts, he kept thinking over and over; there is no comparison, there is no comparison, there is no comparison…

Caroline frowned in confusion when he darted out the door, slamming it behind him. He hadn't seemed angry, he had seemed… scared? Well, that didn't make any sense... confused, Caroline walked up the stairs and peaked into Damon's room. Nothing seemed wrong; Elena was curled up in his bed, asleep. Or, so she had thought. When she looked in, Elena opened her eyes and her brown ones locked with Caroline's blue. She seemed extremely happy to see her, "Caroline, can I ask you a favor?"

Caroline smiled and walked into the room, sitting on Damon's bed, "Sure."

Elena sat up, "How would you get a vampire couple back together?"

Caroline raised an eyebrow, "Are you talking about Damon and Rebekah?"

Elena sighed and nodded, "He's done so much for me… he's saved my life, twice! I feel like I owe him something in return. Since it's my fault that Rebekah left him… I feel like I should at least try to fix things. I was hoping you would help me."

Caroline grinned; when she was human, she had loved being the match maker amongst her friends. The idea of being able to do that again made her giddy, "Oh, yes! Absolutely! What did you have in mind?"

Elena considered it, and then slumped into the numerous pillows, frowning, "I have no idea. What kind of thing do vampires do when they… date someone?"

Caroline shrugged, "It all depends on the vampire, I guess."

Elena heaved a sigh. Then her eyes lit up, "Why don't we go shopping tomorrow? Maybe we'll get any idea there, at the mall. Do you want to go?"

Caroline squealed in excitement; she hadn't had an excuse to leave the house in almost two years. The idea of shopping, and shopping with another teenage girl, was extremely exciting for her. "Yes," she squealed, "Absolutely! All we have to do is convince Damon to let us borrow the car."

Elena's smile slipped a bit; that could be interesting…