Chapter 7

Elena Quality Time

As Damon left The Mystic Grill, a smile played at the corners of his lips, he had left behind a slightly flustered female Original, a highly amused baby vamp and a perplexed male Original hybrid. His day was looking up.

While the flustered female Original, one Rebekah Mikaelson, tried her best not to let it show this little meeting cost her a lot,- emotionally. Last night, at least the last part of last night, had ended on a high note. After 80 plus years of being alone and unloved she had finally made contact with the only one she wanted. Flustered she may be but the thought of said contact being made a number of times was enough to bring a smile and blush, if a vampire could blush, to her face. To an outsider looking in it didn't make much sense. Given the only history anyone was even aware of, she had stabbed him with a stick of all things at a barbeque on the beach just a couple short months back. In her mind it was justified, if anyone had asked or even known about the event to ask, she would have simply said, "He had it coming, he was being a jerk." While she might be passionate, she really was and is a woman of few words.

The baby vamp, one Caroline Forbes, thought the impromptu meeting at The Mystic Grill went well. Seeing Damon even a little out of sorts for whatever reason always made her day. While the slap he had received on the end of Rebekah's hand had truly shocked her, she was happy about it. Seriously he was a dumbass and if her new friend decided that he deserved it, it was good enough for her. Oh and he was making dinner. So for her it was a win, win. He was an excellent cook, but she had no intention of ever telling him that. His ego was big enough.

The perplexed male Original Hybrid, one Niklaus Mikaelson, for now was going to go with the flow. As he had told Caroline the night before, "I fancy you." So he had something to look forward to, any time he got to spend time with the baby vamp that so amused, irritated and beguiled him, made him happy. Also like Caroline, he was going to be treated to a, if his memory served and he had an edict memory so he would know, fantastic dinner at the hands of one irritatingly un-respectful dark haired vampire. Thanks to his sister, he really couldn't very well end his unlife, but for now he chose not to dwell on those matters and focus on the lovely Caroline Forbes instead and let his sister work out her own issues. Unless of course he hurt her, then all bets would be off. Besides he wanted to know what Damon was talking about earlier. Kol and Elijah mentioned something about all of them being joined, so at this point killing the messenger, was not really a smart idea.

From The Mystic Grill, Damon had gone to the grocery store as he had some things to pick up if the dinner was to go smoothly. He was in a relatively happy mood except for one thing that kept forcing its way into his thoughts. 'Why in the hell was he so drawn to Rebekah?' He hardly really knew her. Before yesterday, he had zero interest in her. Okay that was a lie; he had flirted with her once that he could remember and that didn't end well. He got stabbed with a freakin' stick. A stick she had used to roast marshmallows on of all things.

Damon Salvatore could literally have any woman he wanted. He was ridiculously good looking, he oozed sex appeal and he could have or take what he wanted. Okay another lie, he couldn't have Elena Gilbert. Well…he could, but it would take a lot of lying and pretending to be something he wasn't. But at the moment he didn't want Elena Gilbert. He was confused. He felt like killing something or someone. The old Damon would have done just that, he would have struck out and ended someone, drank them dry. The new Damon, the one that was supposed to be a better man, well, he had a dinner to cook so he pushed her to the back of his mind as a startling image of Rebekah again flooded his mind's eye. She was sitting across from him in an outdoor café, circa 1920. "What the fuck," he thought as the image faded from his mind as fast as it had appeared.

"I need a drink," he muttered as he pulled his car into the drive way of The Boarding House. Getting out of the car, he went around to the trunk and got out the groceries he had bought for tonight's little dinner party. Holding the two bags in each arm he approached his front door and just as he shifted the bags so that he was holding them in one arm freeing his right hand to open his door, it opened. Standing there sipping from a blood bag with a blue straw was Caroline.

Damon looked at the image in front of him and smiled at her, ""Blondie, is it 9:00 already?"

"Damon, can I talk to you, please?"

"Sure, can you talk to me in the kitchen? I would like to put these away," referring to the groceries, "and nice straw by the way."

Without waiting for an answer he brushed by her and made his way into the Kitchen. After putting the bags down on top of the counter top he started putting the groceries away. "So Blondie, what's up? Trouble with you and Tyler? Oh wait you're not with Tyler any more after the whole biting and near death thing are you?"

As he talked he walked over to the pantry and removed a loaf of bread, then moved to the refrigerator and took out some cheese and sandwich meat that he kept on hand for his human friends. She watched him for a minute trying to figure out what he was doing.

"Damon, why are you making a sandwich? Aren't we having dinner in a couple of hours?"

As he started to build the sandwich he smirked at her and waited a beat before responding, "Yes, we are. I believe we set the time at 9:00, but you know that already, and nice job with Klaus earlier."

She looked at him frowning for a moment before answering, "He shouldn't presume everything. Just because he is a big scary Original that has tried to kill us numerous times doesn't mean that I am going to do everything he say's without asking me first. That is just rude."

He looks at her closely as she talks about Klaus and then laughs as he finishes making the sandwich.

"Why is that funny, dumbass?"

He shrugs as he goes to the fridge and get's out the orange juice he keeps on hand and then get's a glass out of the cupboard and pours it. He then puts the plate with the sandwich and the glass of O.J. on the tray and looks at Caroline. "You like him," he say's stating a fact. "You even went to the Ball with him last night and then you both left early." As he say's the last in a suggesting tone, he watches his prodigy closely for any reaction at all.

"I don't like him, you jerk. I was being polite for Rebekah's sake. She had a rough morning. Someone was mean to her," now she watches him for any reaction to see if she hit a nerve, "You wouldn't know anything about that would you?"

Lifting an eyebrow he just looks at her his face neutral except for a slight arching of an eyebrow, which is what he does unconsciously when he is hiding something.

"I am not sure what you mean Barbie, so let's assume I'm stupid and you can spell it out for me."

"Fine Damon," she says in a huff. "Are you using Rebekah like you used me?" There she said it, the one thing she swears she has forgiven him for, for when she was human but the truth is…she wasn't entirely over it. It's not that she has any romantic interest in Damon but she was used and that's what hurts her, more than anything else, 'being used.'

Without missing a beat he replies as he picks up the tray, "I am no more using her then she is using me."

"I see," now she is getting mad at how stubborn these two are. Caroline is more perceptive than people give her credit for. Without even knowing he has done it, he just told her that he wasn't using her. So for now she drops the subject and looks from the tray to Damon.

"Who is lunch for?"

The thing about Damon is he doesn't lie. Oh, he's very good at answering questions with questions when he's uncomfortable. However this time he's far from uncomfortable, so he answers her question, "Tell you what, Barbie; I have to feed someone who is on vervain. I unfortunately will have a rather pesky unwelcome house guest for about three days till it works its way out of her system and since I can't get any answers out of her if she dies of starvation, I have decided to feed her. So follow me and until you know the whole story no over reacting and no judging out of you."

She decides it is just easier to give in if she wants the answers she wants so she follows him down the hall leading to the cells downstairs. As they descend the stairs she hears a very angry Elena shouting.

"Damon you asshole you better let me out of here this instant. You have had me locked in this cell since this morning. I'm hungry and I have to pee. Damon do you hear me? Please, I have to pee."

Caroline looks at him as if he has totally lost it as she moves to pass him. His left hand shoots out and grips her forearm tightly causing her to stop, "Damon, what the hell?"

Damon gives her a look that would ordinarily freeze the blood in the veins of a normal person, but it doesn't have the same effect on Caroline as she jerks her arm free and rushes forward with vamp speed to stand before the door of the cell that is holding her best friend.

"Damon, you dumb ass. Let her out of there."

As he comes up behind her with the tray of food he say's to quiet for Elena to hear, "What did I tell you about over reacting and judging?"

"You can't keep her in there," she say's venomously.

"Tell you what, Barbie, how about you take her to the bathroom and give her lunch, then ask her what she did when she came over this morning and why I locked her up."

She looks at him as if she can't believe he would do this to Elena and truthfully she can't, but doing as he said she unlocks the cell and takes the tray from him and storms into the cell. She barely gets the chance to put the tray down when Elena starts ranting at her to let her out.

"Take her to the bathroom, Caroline, but don't let her go anywhere else. When she's done, I want her back there in that cell. I will leave you two to talk, I'll be upstairs getting ready for tonight's dinner and I mean it, Caroline, I want her back in that cell." Without another word he turns and heads upstairs shutting and locking the door at the top.

Thirty minutes later a loud slamming cell door is heard followed by the voice of one very pissed off blonde haired, blue eyed, petite vampire. "Do you even think before you act, Elena? You bitch!" She is so mad that she can barely even speak as she locks the cell and moves quickly down the hall and up the steps, behind her Elena can be heard screaming to let her out.

As she approaches the door at the top of the stairs it opens and Damon is there with a concerned look on his face. He takes in the appearance of the baby vamp and pulls her into a hug as he shuts and locks the door behind them. He stands there holding her as she cries silently in his arms. She is so upset that she is literally shaking. At this moment she wants to kill Elena for what she did.

Soothingly he asks, "Understand now?"

She clutches his shirt and nods her head against his chest as she fights to regain control of her emotions.

He leads her into the living room, sits her down on the couch, then walks over to the liquor cart and pours them both a drink. She sits quietly trying to understand why her friend would do this, her drink in her hand. She takes a big gulp out of it and looks up red-eyed at Damon.

"Why?"

"I can't answer that, hon, I wish I could but only she knows why she would do what she did. Didn't she tell you?"

"No, she just said what happened with Esther and Finn in the room. The spell that bound them with her blood and if one dies, they all die. I asked her why she would do it all she said was, Klaus had to pay for Jenna and everyone else."

Damon drains his glass, swallowing thickly before he speaks, "Care…," she smiles when he calls her by the name only her closest friends call her. "In three days the vervain will be out of her system. We will get answers then."

"You called me, Care."

"Yeah?"

"Well it's usually, Blonde or Barbie, and sometimes even baby vamp."

"Don't make a big deal out of it, Barbie," he smirks and rolls his eyes.

She sniffs and smiles sadly at him. "Damon?"

"Hmmm?"

"We were just starting to be friends, it's not fair. I can't lose them."

"Come here, Blondie." He opens his arms to her and she goes to him without even a thought. As he envelopes her in his arms, he whispers so softly she isn't even sure she heard it. "I know, I don't want to lose her either."

"Then you need to be nicer to her, she told me that you were mean to her and that you used her. She likes you, Damon," she pulls back and looks him in the eyes. "Be nice!"

He smirks at her and asks, "Did she say that? Because it has been my experience that she is an Original and she gives as good as she gets."

"You are such a dumb ass, she may be over a thousand years old but she is still just an eighteen year old girl. She doesn't have anyone except her family. She won't say it out loud but she's scared, Damon, that no one will ever care for her and she's lonely. You know what that's like, so be nice to her or I am going to kick your ass and you know I can."

"You have a big heart Caroline and she doesn't have to be alone now, she has you as a friend, although how that happened is beyond me."

"Maybe she needs you too, Damon."

Deflecting he says, "Look you need to get ready for tonight and I need to start dinner or it won't be ready when you all get here."

"I bought a new outfit and so did Bekah."

He smiles at that and knows what she is trying to do. She is probing and he is not going to give her information so instead he changes the subject.

"Well, why are you still here? Go get ready for your dinner partner."

"You're an ass," she says playfully. "But I have one more question, what do we tell Bekah and Klaus?"

The fact that she keeps referring to Rebekah as Bekah is not lost on him, he knows she needs her as much as the other needs her. Maybe they can help each other. While Caroline does have friends she doesn't have one female vampire friend and he would like to see that happen for her. She deserves to have someone that is female that can relate to her. Rebekah's smiling face floods his mind's eye from this morning. She is looking down into his eyes and she is smiling. Her eyes are filled with affection and then the moment is gone and Damon clears his throat as he comes back to the present.

"I think after dinner, we let Klaus and your little friend Bekah talk to Elena and see if she tells them anything else. Even if she doesn't tell them any more than she told you or me, they will be on their guard until she is vervain free and can be compelled. It's all that we can do, Caroline."

She nod's knowing he is right then kisses him on the cheek and cheerfully say's, "Bye, see you later."

"Yeah, go get ready for Klaus. Look extra pretty."

She mock cries out, "Damon!"

He replies in the same tone of voice, "Barbie!"

TBC

Okay guys and girls I have had close to 1500 readers since this story started 9 days ago and only 9 reviews but something like 50 alerts and favorites. So please review and let me know what you think. I need you to feed my ego. So Review!

To be continued in a little something I like to call:

Chapter 8

Four Vampires And A Dinner Party