Summary: A moment of crisis and fear between Damon and Alaric witnessed by Elena.
Drabble 5
"He needs blood." Elena's voice was shaky. She kept looking back to Damon's limp form, slouched against the wall. His head lolled weakly, eyelids drooping before snapping back. Elena hated seeing any of her friends hurt like this, but Damon…It was always especially bad with the virtually indestructible Salvatore brothers.
"We're both vervained up. We'd hurt him more than help." Alaric told the franticly worried girl.
"We have to do something." She paced a bit. She didn't understand how the history teacher could be so seemingly detached about the situation and it angered her a bit. Alaric should be the one most worried for Damon, the one seething with vengeful rage. "He can't take this much longer. He's dying Alaric-"
"You think I don't know that?" Alaric hissed at her lowly. "You think I, don't know that, Elena?"
She was silent in shock and Alaric regretted his tone, but dammit she wasn't the only desperate one and he had more right to his fears than she did. And she knew that. She nodded.
"I know…I know." Alaric took a moment to compose himself. With Elena threatened and Damon down, he had to be the calm one if they were all going to live through this. He was about to turn back around when he heard her. "Damon!"
Both were back at the vampire's side. His eyes were closed and Elena pawed at his face gently with upmost concern and care. She shook him lightly.
"Damon? Damon, open your eyes." She pleaded with him, but the man never so much as twitched. "Da-"
Alaric grabbed Damon's shoulder and shook him roughly, hard enough to hurt on a good day, let alone wounded like this. His head snapped back against the brick lightly and they all winced.
"Damon!"
Blue eyes snapped open before settling at half mast. He turned his head toward Alaric, seeming confused for a moment, before he smirked weakly.
"…'y know how hot you look when you're all violent?" Elena saw Damon's trademark smirk slide into something more fondly tender than she was probably ever supposed to see. "Still here, Ric."
Alaric let out a shuddering breath. He put a hand on Damon's head, threading black strands through his fingers. He nodded tightly at the vampire, eyes changing expression the same way Damon's lips had.
Despite herself, Elena felt a coil of automatic jealousy. She was sure neither her de-facto guardian or her former suitor had ever looked at her the way they were looking at each other. She wondered if Stefan could still look at her like that.
"Okay." Alaric breathed out. Damon's head drooped a little again and Alaric squeezed his shoulder, 'I'm here, I'm here, hang on'. "Okay."