Hey, guys, so the next chapter's here! I hope you enjoy it! :)

Elena froze. Neither her brain nor her body would obey her, her mind was becoming blank, almost like it was trying to forget the information it had just heard. She broke down on the couch, and felt how the warm tears started rolling down her cheeks. Was it possible to cry and not know it? She didn't know how to react, she didn't know what to think. Caroline, her cheerful, direct, beautiful, and sometimes a little annoying best friend was missing. Was it possible she could die? What if she died? Elena had lost too many people, she couldn't afford losing another one, she couldn't imagine her life without the cute, little blonde by her side. They had been best friends ever since kindergarten, she knew Elena more than Elena knew herself, and vice versa. A little part of her mind was thinking, praying that since they didn't have anything new for the past couple of months whoever was doing this had given up on them. How naive of her! And now her best friend was gone.

She hadn't even realized she was shaking, until she felt Damon's arms around her, pulling her in a tight hug. She buried her face in the crook of his neck.

„Damon... I don't know what I will do if something..." She started, but her sobs were so violent that she couldn't even form a proper sentence.

„Shh, I am not going to tell you everything is going to be okay, because there is no possible way we could be sure of that.." He started, soothingly caressing her back. If he was trying to calm her down, this was so not the way. „You said no lies, right? But what I can promise you is that I will do everything in my damn power to make sure Caroline's fine, okay?" He continued whispering calmly in her ear.

Elena nodded, but she couldn't let him go. They stood like that for a couple of minutes, until Elena lifted her head and looked at him with teary eyes:

„I thought they were after me, why would they take... " A tear rolled off her eye and Damon wiped it away with his thumb, caressing her skin gently.

„These people, Elena, they're sick, you know that right? There is no possible way to calculate what their next move will be."

„Damon, I can't imagine my life without her. She's like a sister to me." She broke down in his arms again. The last time she felt like that was when she lost her baby, she could feel the physical pain in her chest when she thought about never seeing Caroline again. It was like someone had taken her heart and was squeezing it so hard that she couldn't, move, she couldn't breathe, she couldn't do anything. And she needed to do something, otherwise she would go crazy. She heard Damon's soft voice again:

„Listen, I have to go down there, would you be okay driving yourself at home? Or should I call you a cab?"

„Go home? I can't go home, Damon! How can I possibly go home, and act like nothing happened, when Caroline's out there somewhere, and they are doing god knows what to her right now?" She rose his voice to him.

„Listen to me. There is nothing you could do right now, okay? And being here, next to me wouldn't help. I would worry about you, when what I should be worrying about is Caroline, do you understand me? This is the safest place for you right now." He explained calmly to her. It was amazing to her how he could stay calm in a situation like that. She knew he was right, and she just nodded, coming to terms with what he said. It was probably best to just stay out of his way and let him do his job. She bit her lip and responded:

„Okay, I understand."

„Let me call you a cab, then." He told her and gave her a quick kiss. „I will do everything in my power to make sure this has a happy ending, I promise you." His piercing blue eyes were boring into her doe ones, support was shining through them.

„I know. I believe in you." She squeezed his hand to back up her words. It was true, if it was someone she trusted, as much as she trusted Caroline it was Damon. She would gladly trust him with her own life, and she believed that he would die, before let anything happen to her. She just hoped he would be as passionate about finding Caroline as well... before it was too late.

She got out of there, got in the cab, and headed to her home. She should tell Stefan right now. The problem was that she wasn't sure how she would do that, because her eyes were filling with tears just thinking about Caroline. She got in the house and let out a sigh of relief when she realized Stefan wasn't there. She got in the shower, and let the hot water relax her muscles, she pressed her back against the wall, and let the tears stream down her cheeks again. She was tired of thinking, and hypothesizing about it, but her mind wouldn't listen to her, all she could think about was Caroline, in some basement, being tortured. She felt how she slid down, her back still pressed against the wall, until she was curled up on the floor, her knees pressed to her chest, the water still falling heavily on her, now a little colder than before.

Damon got to the laboratory, pushing the door angrily. How could this happen? She had a guard with her, all the time? How could he let that happen? He could feel something like that happening, he just knew it, his hunch had never betrayed him before why would it now? If something happened to Caroline, he was sure Elena would never forgive him, but the worst thing was that he would never forgive himself. He had grown to like the cheerful blonde, with her little snarky comments, and her smile. She was young, so young, she had her whole life before her and he just couldn't let her end up like that, like the others. At least Elena was safe now.

He entered the room and asked loudly, so that everyone could her him:

„Come on, guys, talk to me! What happened?"

„Well, she was last seen yesterday evening, picking up her wedding dress. Her fiancé said that he walked her to her home, and left her there, he hadn't noticed anything suspicion, or out of the ordinary, a typical Tuesday night. And then today, when he went to pick her up, he couldn't find her. Her home was trashed, there were signs of struggle. She didn't go down without a fight." Amanda reported quickly, while showing him the pictures of Caroline's house on the big screen before them.

„Do we know how many of them were there?" Damon kept asking in a steady tone.

„Our best guess is two, one probably wouldn't have taken her down by himself." Another quick responce left Amanda's mouth.

„And there was no DNA, nothing from the attackers, that could lead us to their identity?"

„Sorry, we came up blank. The only thing we found were signs of chloroform."

„Chloroform? She was drugged?" Damon rose his brow.

„Yes, I guess she was too much for them to handle." She shrugged.

„What about how they got out of the house, where did they go?" Damon was becoming angrier and angrier by the minute. This was so not their style, they didn't kidnap, they killed. There was something fishy around here. This was not right.

„We detected the car from a street camera. It was without a license plate, so we think this is what we were looking for. But we lost it, they either changed it, or they got to their location."

„Okay, I want the car brought in, and the area where it was found to be secured." Damon ordered.

„Done and done." Amanda said proudly.

„Good." Damon nodded. „Joey, what we have on the phone?"

„Nothing much, just a bunch of texts and calls from Tyler and Elena." Joey shrugged. „But I'll keep looking."

„Good boy. Speaking about, get me Tyler Lockwood."

After a couple of moments, Amanda handed him a phone and he gave her a considerate nod in return, he knew they were working their asses off because of this case, and he didn't want to create any more pressure for them. He heard Tyler's trembling voice on the other line:

"Tyler, it's Damon." He introduced himself.

"Do you have anything on her? Please tell me you have something." There was no greeting, no anything, but Damon knew how he felt. All he probably wanted to do was to hold Caroline in his arms again; he could hear the panic and the desperation in his voice.

"For now, we don't have much. That's why I am calling, I need you to tell me exactly what happened yesterday evening." He told him in a rather soothing voice, he really felt bad for him.

"I don't know man, one minute I was kissing her goodbye, she was going on and on about how she found the perfect dress, and the next morning she was gone…" His voice started trembling again. He was in a bad place right now and Damon was sure he wouldn't get much out of him.

"I am going to do whatever it takes to find her, okay?" He knew that he could use the calming words.

"Please, Damon, please, bring my girl back to me." He begged.

Elena finally managed to get out of the shower, and curled up in the same position on the bed. The water from her wet hair was rolling down her back, but she didn't care. All she wanted now was someone to hold her. And she knew exactly who this someone was, she needed Damon, she needed his arms wrapped up protectively around her, she needed his soothing words in her ears, she needed him to tell her everything's going to be okay, and to never let her go, she needed him, but she knew she couldn't always get what she wanted. Thinking about Damon was making her feel a little bit better, because it was taking her mind off Caroline, and the awful images her mind was drawing. But when her mind moved to Damon she remembered how he exploded this morning and her mind became a complete mess again. She wanted to be with him, there was nothing more she wanted in this world, but she was scared to close such a big and important page of her life, which was Stefan, just yet. She didn't know how other people would react to the news that she was nothing more but a cheating whore, she didn't know if Damon would stand up behind her in time of need, if he will give her what she wants – family and marriage. She had always pictured that when she was older, she would sit on the porch with her husband, smiling and chatting, while their grandchildren play around them. Grandchildren. The word cut her deep, when she remembered that the chances of her ever experiencing something like that were almost equal to zero. Sometimes she truly thought she was being masochistic. She couldn't understand why is it so hard for her to let go, when obviously things between her and Stefan had been over for a long time now, but neither she nor him wanted to admit it. They were both holding onto something that didn't exist, not anymore. Every time she was leaving the house in the past couple of months, and telling another lie about why she wouldn't be home that night, her heart was breaking . Every time he was giving her a kiss goodbye, and she was running in the other direction, in the arms of Damon, she felt like crying and screaming, the guilt was eating her up from the inside out, but she couldn't stop, because in the moment when her arms met Damon's, her lips met his, their bodies entangled together, craving each other, she felt complete. It was like her heart had found its other half, and it wouldn't let it go no matter what. Instead of being sick of all of this, every time she craved him more and more, and it was not just about the sex anymore. She craved the long talks they used to have, when Elena used to tell him about her family, her high school years, whatever she could think about, and he would just run his fingers through her back, listening carefully every word that was coming out of her mouth, until she would feel too tired, and would just fall asleep in his arms. Seeing his face in the morning was making her heart flutter, and the happiness was washing over her. She wanted to see this face every morning, from now until the rest of her life. She was sure he felt the same way, she could tell by the way he was looking at her, like she was the only woman in the whole wide universe, how his expression lit up every time he saw her. All she wanted was this man. Now and forever.

Her phone beeped and it took her out of her little trance. She reached for it on the night stand, wiping the tears from her face. She unlocked it and saw one new message.

From: Unknown

You want to see your friend alive? Meet me in the garden a couple blocks away from your house in an hour or she dies. No cops.

She started at the phone in a complete and utter shock for a couple of more moments, until the information from the text got to her brain and she realized what exactly it was saying. Then it clicked her. They never wanted Caroline, they wanted her. Caroline was just a bait to get her exactly where they wanted her, on their own terms. She felt the freezing fear taking over her body again, making it impossible for her to move. But she knew, she knew she had to do this otherwise she would never forgive herself. She quickly got up from the bed and put on the first clothes she saw. Her heart was racing and her vision was blurry. What if they double-crossed her? What if she got there and in the end they wouldn't let Caroline go? Should she tell Damon? The questions were twirling in her mind, until she decided she would play by their rules, she couldn't let anything happen to Caroline, because she was too scared. She also knew that Damon probably would never forgive her for that, but right now, all she could think about was saving her best friend. Her phone beeped again and she looked down to see another message.

From: Unknown

Tick-tock.

There was a picture attached to it as well. She opened it and saw Caroline with tape over her mouth, her blonde hair was messy and her face was covered with little drops of blood. But the most frightening thing were her eyes, the fear that had settled there, was more powerful than anything Elena had ever seen. She was in panic, and her look was so begging that she felt the warm tears streaming down her cheeks again. But after that she felt the rush of adrenalin, the confidence that she suddenly gained. If there was a right way to die, it would be to protect the ones you love right? Dying to save Caroline was the wisest, most obvious thing on the world. She would do it in a heartbeat, she realized. She would do it for Caroline, for Damon... She pushed Damon out of her mind and headed for the door, but when she was at the door frame she thought of something. She got back and left her phone on the bed. Maybe this could help him somehow. She ought this to him, at least this.

She got out of the house and ran towards their little place with Caroline. How did he even know to pick exactly this place? She didn't have time to think about it. After a couple of more minutes she was there, in the middle of the garden, waiting for her own death. If someone had told her a couple of months ago that she would be here now, she would have never believed them. But at least right now, for the first time in so long, she felt like she was doing the right thing. She stood there waiting, but nothing happened. Maybe she should have brought her phone with her after all. What if they had sent her some additional clues. She started looking around nervously around her, with every minute that was passing she felt worse and worse. It was like her whole stomach had turned around and she felt like vomiting. She took a couple of deep breaths, but her feet never moved from their position.

After a few more moments she felt two strong hands grabbing her from behind. She started kicking and tried to scream but whoever was holding her silenced her by forcing a napkin to her mouth and nose. She breathed in and she felt a sweet taste, a sensation feeling her up. It was actually pleasant, he mind was going blank, releasing her from all of her problems, all she could see and feel was blackness, consuming blackness, but this time she didn't want to fight it. She just gave in and let the darkness consumed her.

Damon walked nervously around, waiting for some results. For the past couple of hours he had nothing. Absolutely nothing. All he did was move from one desk to another, checking on the non-existing progress they were making. After a couple of minutes, he decided to check up on Elena, he got his phone out and dialed her number. Funny thing, he knew it by heart now. He didn't even have to look for her in the call book. He kept on waiting to hear her soft voice from the other line, but he came up blank. There was nothing, the phone continued to ring, but there was no one to pick it up. He felt how fear started creeping up on him, but he ignored it, he shouldn't become paranoid, she might be in the shower or something.

So he waited ten more minutes, and tried again. The result was the same. Now he started panicking. Why didn't she pick up the phone?

„Damn it, Elena!"

He took his jacket and stormed out of there in a flash, feeling his team's eyes digging into his back, as he slammed the door behind him. She got into his car and drove in an insane speed towards Elena's house. If something has happened to her... No, he thought to himself, you should think like that. He got to the house and stormed inside without even knocking. Instead of Elena, he found Stefan, sitting casually in one of the armchairs in the living room, watching TV.

„Where's Elena?" He asked directly, making the other man jump slightly in his seat. Damon had surprised him, there was no doubt about that.

„What are you doing here?" Stefan gave him a quick look, shock appearing on his face. He hadn't really seen his brother since that dinner thing, and him barging in in his own house like that was the last thing he expected.

„I asked you something. Where is she?" Damon said, a little harsher.

„I don't know I just got home, she wasn't here." He shrugged.

Damon swore, and dialed her number again. He heard the phone ringing from upstairs, and he quickly got there, feeling a little bit of relief. Maybe she was in the shower, after all. He got to her bedroom, and kicked the door open. He saw her phone laying on the bed, and the first thing he did was to check the bathroom. Nothing. He felt how the fear took over him, ever cell in his body was tensed, he felt how his chest tightened, making it harder for him to breathe. She was gone, his worst nightmare had come true, she was really gone. He looked around him. Just clothes. Everything was in its place, there was nothing that could indicate any signs or struggle. Just her clothes, her stuff. If something happened to her, he would never be able to live with himself. He couldn't even imagine the scenario where he wouldn't be able to see her every day, to touch her every day, to listen to her stories, her laughter, he couldn't imagine a life without that gorgeous smile of hers. No, he would find her, even if this was the last thing he would do.

He heard footsteps approaching and seconds later Stefan was standing in the door frame, confused.

„Could you please tell me what is going on here?" He asked.

„You want me to tell you what is going on?" Damon rose his voice to him, releasing all of his anger on his brother. „What is going on is that your wife is missing and you didn't even fucking noticed!" He screaming in his face.

„If you must know, my wife is missing a lot these days, it's nothing unusual." Stefan shrugged. His words cut Damon, but he was too angry to care right now.

„You really are an idiot, aren't you?" He spat at him again. „Caroline was kidnapped today, and Elena could be..." He couldn't finish the sentence.

„What?" Stefan was truly surprised about the turn of events.

„Just.. you know what, get back to watching TV or whatever you were doing, you're wasting my time right now, and it's pretty precious." Damon turned his back on him.

„It's my wife you're talking about here, I can't just sit and do nothing!" It was Stefan's turn to snap now.

„Really? Is that why you don't give a rat's ass about where your wife is?" Damon yelled again, mocking the word „wife". „She might be your wife, but you're a hell of a lousy husband."

The next thing he knew was Stefan's fist hitting his jaw. He knew that he might have crossed the line a bit, but it was Elena who they were talking about and he was not going down without a fight. He would fight for her until the very end, he realized in this moment. Why would it have to get to a life-threating situation for him to realize that? He vaguely heard Stefan's words:

„You know nothing about me and Elena, understood? Nothing!"

„I know more than you think." He hissed back, feeling the anger circulation through his veins. „Hitting me was not very wise, by the way." He said, and hit his brother back, as hard as he could. He felt how his fist hit his jaw, and he fell on the floor, just like Damon.

Damon just took Elena's phone and stormed out of the house. He opened her last calls, nothing, then he got to the text and when he saw the last two, it clicked him.

„Oh, Elena, what have you done?" He panted heavily, got in his car again, and drove off again. When he got to his team, they were all waiting for him. Amanda was the first one to speak:

„Damon, what happened to you?" She asked, seeing his swallowed jaw.

„I want every fucking team we have, working on that case!" He ordered, ignoring Amanda's words.

„Damon, what is going on?"

„Elena's missing as well."

That's it for now! I hope you liked how this turned out, because I am not really sure, anyway, feedback will be loved :)