Damon woke to find he was lying on a large comfortable bed. He jumped up with a start into a sitting position when he released that he didn't recognise his surroundings. In a flash, Elijah appeared beside the bed. As Damon locked eyes with Elijah he slowly began to recall what had happened. He was jumped by four vampires outside the grill before being tied up to a tree and tortured for Elena's location. Then Elijah appeared.
"Stefan", Damon said quietly almost to himself.
"I've spoken with Stefan. He knows you're safe and that you are with me", Elijah replied.
Damon clutched his side and groaned, his body reminding him that he was still weak and wounded. Noticing Damon's obvious discomfort, Elijah placed his hands on Damon's shoulders and lightly pushed him back against the bed. He turned to the bedside table, picked up a blood bag and offered it to Damon. Damon looked at Elijah, slightly confused before accepting it.
"I don't understand", was all Damon could think to say before he slowly started to drink the blood, using a plastic tube from the bag as a straw.
"I went to the boarding house to inform you and your brother of a new threat against Elena. I was there when Alaric called Stefan. He witnessed the attack on you outside the grill", Elijah explained.
"What threat?" Damon asked as he hungrily drank from the blood bag.
"An old rival of Klaus is offering a reward for the capture and safe delivery of the Petrova doppelganger", Elijah replied. He paused briefly, allowing Damon to process what he had just said before he continued.
"Somehow he discovered the Sun and the Moon curse was a fraud fabricated by Klaus for his own gain. He is aware that Klaus used blood from the Petrova doppelganger to become a vampire werewolf hybrid and that he requires the doppelganger's blood to create and sire a new race of hybrids. The only thing that he doesn't seem to know is the identity of the doppelganger".
"How did he find out?" Damon asked, alarmed by this new development.
"I can't be sure, but I have my suspicions", Elijah answered, giving Damon a considered look.
"Katherine", Damon said almost beneath his breath as he thought out loud.
Noticing that Damon had finished the blood, Elijah took the empty bag while handing him another one.
"Now that Elena has a price on her head, vampire and werewolf mercenaries alike will be scrabbling to find her. The vampires that attacked you were bounty hunters. Luckily for you they were easy to track", Elijah said with a small smile.
"How did they know to come after me?" Damon asked as he struggled to drink the second bag of blood. Now that he had fed, he found that he was feeling sleepy.
"Quite a few people are aware of Katerina's relationship with the Salvatore brothers. They could have surmised that due to your past relationship with her that you may know the identity of her descendent", Elijah offered as a suggestion.
Damon nodded his head weakly, lowering the half finished blood bag from his lips and resting it against his chest. Elijah tilted his head to the side as he watched Damon. Elijah then placed his hand over the hand Damon was holding the blood bag and gently guided it back up to his lips. Damon turned his head and looked at Elijah with tired eyes.
"Drink", Elijah said softly, his hand still over Damon's.
Damon moved the straw back in his mouth and slowly drank more blood. Elijah watched Damon quietly for a minute before moving his hand away and heading towards the bathroom. Damon felt his eyes drift shut as he heard the sound of the water running in the shower.
20 minutes later, Elijah walked out of the bathroom rubbing a towel over his wet hair. He was barefoot, wearing grey sweatpants and a white sleeveless top. He placed the wet towel over the back of a chair before walking over to check on Damon.
Elijah sat down on the bed beside Damon and couldn't help but smile as he looked down. Damon had fallen asleep with the straw of the blood bag still at his lips. Elijah chuckled quietly at how sweet Damon looked lying there fast asleep like a little baby with his bottle. Careful not to wake him, Elijah gently moved the blood bag away from Damon and placed it on the bedside table.
After a moment Elijah found himself lightly stroking the strands of hair near Damon's forehead. Damon slowly turned his head towards his fingers and sleepily looked up at Elijah with shinning blue eyes. Elijah thought that he should probably stop playing with Damon's hair but found that he didn't want to. As Damon clearly didn't seem to object, Elijah continued.
Damon watched Elijah with a small, almost shy smile. Instead of feeling awkward, Damon felt flattered. The affectionate and tender side to Elijah was a complete surprise to Damon. Not only had Damon not expected it, he never imagined that Elijah would consider him worthy of his attention. It made Damon feel special and it had been a long time since someone had made him feel that way.
Elijah had intrigued Damon since Damon discovered that Elijah had survived being impaled against a wall directly through his heart. At first Damon thought that he was merely impressed by Elijah's power and grace. Elijah was handsome, elegant and always in complete control, traits that Damon admired. The last of which, he aspired to one day master himself.
Damon realised he felt more than admiration the day Elijah appeared at the boarding house just in time to save his life, when Jules and her werewolf pose were about to kill him. Elijah looked dashing in his tailored suit as he casually leant against the doorway of the study. Watching Elijah in action while he ripped out the hearts of three werewolves and snapped the neck of his torturer was incredible. When Elijah killed he exuded hardly any effort, his economy of movement was truly a sight to behold.
But the moment that caught Damon's attention and his breath was when Elijah freed the chains restraining him to his chair, inadvertently pulling up Damon's shirt and exposing his abs in the process. Damon would never forget how totally hot Elijah looked as he stared down at him, with his hair slightly in his eyes, smugly pointing out how many times he had saved his life.
"How are you feeling?" Elijah asked softly, drawing Damon away from his thoughts.
"Better", Damon replied with small smile.
Right as Elijah noticed that Damon was starting to look very much awake he felt a flat papery object in Damon's hair. Elijah dug his fingers a little deeper into Damon's hair and pulled out a small leaf. With a board smile Elijah held the leaf out, showing it to Damon.
"Perhaps you should take a shower?" Elijah suggests, still smiling while raising one eyebrow.
"I think that's a good idea", Damon responded as he slowly raised the top half of his body off the bed.
Elijah got off the bed and walked towards the cupboard. He pulled out another pair of sweatpants and a light grey cotton t-shirt. Damon got up and stood beside the bed looking down at the white sheets stained with his blood.
"I messed up your sheets", Damon announced apologetically.
"Don't worry about it. Blood stains are occupational hazards for vampires", Elijah responded as he walked over to where Damon was standing.
"There are clean towels in the bathroom", Elijah said as handed him the clothes.
Damon smiled as he took the clean clothes and then made his way to the bathroom. When he got to the bathroom door he turned around to survey the room. It looked like they were in an old log cabin but one that was equipped with all the modern day comforts. The bedroom was large yet its wooden walls and rug covered floor made it feel cosy. A large bed was on one side of the room. Opposite was a door leading to the bathroom. On the other side there were bookshelves against the walls, a big leather couch and a coffee table. In front was an old fashion fireplace. It was really very beautiful.
"What is this place?" Damon asked approvingly.
"It's where I stay when I visit the area. As you know, I grew up around here", Elijah answered with a nostalgic smile. "It's hard to find if you don't know where to look", he added while raising one eyebrow.
Damon gave Elijah another smile before walking into the bathroom and shutting the door behind him. Damon had always known there was more to Elijah but he never would have guessed that almost getting killed by some hapless bounty hunters would lead to him learning more about the man who had intrigued for so long.